Revolution
by knicnort3
Summary: Vampires have taken over and hunted humans to near extinction. A small colony of surviving humans led by Charlie Swan has built a new life for themselves. When Bella's brother Emmett disappears, she enlists the help of imprisoned vampire Edward to find him(AU) * ON TEMPORARY HIATUS until my vampire writer's block is cleared*
1. Stranger

**Revolution**

***Extended Description: In the not so distant future the world has been taken over by vampires and all the people have been hunted to near extinction. But a colony of surviving humans built a new life for themselves hidden in the shadow of Mount Saint Helens.

They think they're safe, they believe the vampires are oblivious to their existence, but they're in for a rude awakening. A sole vampire infiltrates their village, and he may be hiding some dark secrets that go beyond the obvious.

Bella is the daughter of the village leader – when her older brother Emmett goes on a quest to find more human survivors, word comes back of his capture and Bella makes a decision to set out after him. With the help of her best friend shape shifter Jacob, she busts the vampire captive out and forces him to show them the way to find her brother.

**AU, BPOV, HEA, Romance, Drama, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Slight Angst, Humor, and a hell of a lot of fun!  
Arrogant, Snarky, Witty, and Occasional Dark Edward/ Feisty, Stubborn, Strong-Willed, and Horny as Hell Bella

*Loosely based on the TV show _Revolution _(semi post-apocalyptic, young woman sets out on a journey through a treacherous land to find her brother but encounters much more than anticipated on the way)

Disclaimer: I do not own "Twilight" or "Revolution" plots, characters, or recognizable people and places, but the rest is all mine!

* * *

Chapter 1 – Stranger

It was so quiet, almost too quiet; not a bird chirping or even the gentle rustle of the wind blowing through the trees. It was supposed to be Spring, but you'd never know it from the stillness of the morning. With my bow in hand, I slowly walked forward hoping to find something, anything. But it was just so quiet.

Then there was a noise so I froze in place. For a minute, the only sound was my soft breathing as I tried to hear over it, and then…

A deer, seemingly lost and bewildered in the silence, darted out in front of me and I didn't hesitate. My arrow cut through the air swiftly until it pierced right through the deer's neck…a perfect shot.

After tying the deer up so I could move it easier, I made my way back to the colony. It was nearly twilight and I knew the wolves would be patrolling, so instead of going through the main gate I snuck through a small broken drain in the back. No one knew of my secret path to the outside world, and I planned to keep it that way. My father would absolutely kill me if he knew.

"Bella!" I heard my name as I pulled my kill towards the butcher.

Shit.

I turned slowly. "You're not going to tell dad, right?" I asked, giving him my best pleading face.

"I should!" Emmett said angrily. "You know dad doesn't want you going outside the boundary wall."

I rolled my eyes at him. "And what's going to happen to me? There has never been a vampire in these parts and there never will be. They're too afraid of the volcano."

"Yeah well, they have to be getting desperate by now. All they need is a strong wind to carry our scents towards them and they won't hesitate. After the wolves, the flame wall is our last form of protection and if you're not inside you may as well be dead already," he lectured me. I had heard it all before so I just nodded and tried to tune him out. "This is serious, Bella."

"I know. I just don't understand why dad won't let me go out with the hunting parties. I'm eighteen now, and by far the best archer in the village."

"One, all the hunters are men, and two, they always have wolves with them to cover their scents."

"God, women are just as capable, this is not the eighteenth century, and the wolves will be around soon enough to cover my tracks."

"Ok, here's something you can't argue with…You are Charlie Swan's daughter. End of discussion, now go home!"

"UGH!" I yelled in frustration, I may have even stomped my foot, though I wasn't going to admit it. "I hate being locked in this stupid town all the time!"

It wasn't really the truth; the village was my home and I loved it there, but the forest was where I felt the most free… the most alive, and I hated the thought of never being allowed to escape everyday life there.

"Well you should be grateful for this town and that dad is the leader. There are very few people who are lucky as us!" Emmett said intensely. "Now, go home; I'll take the deer to the butcher."

My father was a police chief before the human world ended, but in the sixteen years since then he had led the surviving people in a peaceful hidden existence. Everyone looked at him with respect and would follow his wishes on anything, including keeping me and the other women and children locked within the confines of the village wall. The top of the wall was set in a constant blaze in a last form of protection if a vampire ever did find us, but in reality, the wall was meant to keep us in. It was a prison, and my father was the warden.

I gave my kill to Emmett and then walked back towards our home. Luckily, no one knew where my secret exit was; therefore I'd still be able to use it the next time I wanted to leave.

"Why do you smell like blood?" Jacob asked me as soon as I rounded the corner to my house.

"Ugh, why do you have to have such a good sense of smell," I said annoyed. "Shouldn't you be out patrolling or taking care of your dad?"

"It's not my turn to patrol, my dad is in a council meeting with your dad, and my sense of smell isn't nearly as good as when I'm in wolf form," he replied casually. "Oh, by the way, I ran into your brother and he said you're in deep shit."

"Whatever," I said irritated. Jacob and I had been friends since his family first arrived there and offered us their protection services. He came from a long line of Native American warrior shape shifters which had been protecting their tribe from vampires long before the rest of us even knew they existed. But the people were weary of anything supernatural at that time, so once again it was my father that stepped in and convinced everyone to trust them and we've all been grateful for their presence ever since.

But at that moment, I just wanted a certain shape shifter to leave me the hell alone.

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" Jake asked me while playfully shoving my shoulder.

"How would you like it if you were never allowed to leave the village?" I snapped at him.

"You can leave….as long as I go with you."

"Why, because a lone teen wolf can protect me from a vampire attack?" I asked sarcastically. I really didn't mean to take out my frustrations on Jake, but he'd never hold it against me – I suppose that was why he was my best friend.

"Damn right I could protect you."

"And how many vampires have you killed before?" I asked with a smirk.

"Well….none…but I've seen it done mentally and I know exactly what to do."

"Uh huh," I said with a laugh.

I decided to push my foul mood away and just enjoy my friend's company for a while. As much as I hated it, the village rules were there for our safety whether I agreed with them or not, and I had to respect that.

For the rest of the week I was good and never left the village, but then my brother informed me he was going on a trip and I had an odd feeling that everything was about to change. Of course, that just made me even more anxious...

"How is it fair that I can't even go out into the forest right outside the wall, but Emmett's going on some journey?" I asked my father. I had to admit, I sounded like a whinny brat, but I couldn't force myself to shut up about it. The forest was really my only place of true and complete happiness, and I didn't want to lose it.

"Bella," he replied with a frustrated sigh. "We have reason to believe there are more survivors out there, and Emmett has asked to go search for them. He is taking four wolves with him for protection and to cover his tracks, whereas _you_ have no business being outside the wall."

"I'm the best archer –"

He put up his hand to stop me. "We have hunters to bring meat back to the village. It's their job, and _your_ job is helping in the library. We all have our places here, and yours is definitely not outside the wall."

"But…"

"My answer is no," he said sternly and that was the end of the conversation.

As immature as I was being about the entire thing, I didn't even care about my own miniscule level of freedom, not really anyway. It was just an easier thing to focus on then what was about to happen - my brother was leaving….and he may never come back.

I couldn't even think about it. I could never imagine a world without Emmett. My stomach was in knots and I had been fighting the urge to cry since first finding out about it.

I couldn't lose him.

He wasn't just my brother, in many ways he was more like my father, mother, brother, and best friend rolled into one person. I loved my dad, but he had such a big responsibility to the village and couldn't always be there the way I needed him. My mother died when I was six, so my brother was the one who was always there for me. He taught me to ride a bike and how to tie my shoes; when I was older, it was Emmett who taught me to shoot an arrow and how to survive in the forest if ever necessary. Everything I knew, everything about me, I learned from him.

What was I supposed to do if Emmett didn't come home?

"Please don't go," I asked him as he came to say goodbye. It seemed like an impossible mission and I was convinced I'd never see him again. I tried to hold in the tears, but they spilled over on my cheeks regardless.

He wiped my cheek with his palm. "I'm coming back," he said assuredly. "I just can't stay here when there's a possibility of survivors out there. They may need help, Bella; if we're not willing to risk our own lives for others, then what the hell are we doing here? We can't forget what's most important….our humanity."

I nodded with a new round of tears. "I wish I could go with you."

He wrapped his arms around me. "You're going to do great things one day, we just need to keep you alive long enough to do them," he said with a chuckle. "Please stay inside the wall while I'm gone."

I hated doing it, but I nodded and agreed. How could I not promise him anything he wanted when I may never see him again?

Emmett, along with four shape shifters, left on foot that afternoon. Automobiles were a thing of the past since we had no way of getting gas, plus vampires didn't need them and had excellent senses so they would be able to hear a car's engine noise for miles. But them being on foot meant they'd be gone for weeks, possibly even months, leaving only eight mature wolves left to protect the village. It would have been easier than ever to sneak out into the forest, but I made Em a promise and I couldn't break it.

…

It was so strange having my brother gone. The village consisted of around five hundred people, and yet, it felt so empty without him. But after he had been gone for a little over three weeks, we were surprised to see a small group of people come to the village, escorted by two of the wolves who had left with Emmett. Apparently his journey was successful, but he wasn't finished just yet.

"The wolves said Emmett and the others were going to head to a location in Phoenix," Jacob explained to me after speaking with the two wolves who had just returned. "They think there are people living in caves there."

"Really?" I asked, grateful Em was ok, but surprised by the news of where they were headed next. Mount Saint Helens' constant volcanic activity was shielding us from the vampires, but I found it extraordinary that caves would be enough to hide people, especially for an extended period of time.

"Well, I doubt anything will come of it, but I guess Emmett still wants to try."

I nodded absently. "I just hope he's being careful."

"Embry said they were moving about pretty easily. They only saw a couple covens and managed to remain undetected."

"That's strange….I thought the lands would be crawling with them."

Jake shrugged. "Maybe they're dying out."

"How could they do that, they're immortal?"

"Yeah, but if they don't have any blood, they get weakened…so maybe they're all just hibernating, or something."

"Maybe," I said uneasily.

Two more weeks past, and suddenly another small group of people arrived with one more wolf - that meant Emmett only had one left to protect him while he went wherever he was going next, which made me absolutely terrified.

I couldn't take it. My anxiety over my brother's absence was reaching an all-time high and I just needed to take a breather. So as a way of still keep my promise, I went to my secret exit to just sit there and look out to the forest, wishing I could run through the tress as I had so often in the past.

"I may be wrong…but I think this sort of thing is forbidden," a voice I didn't recognize said from behind me. I turned quickly and my breath caught.

"Uh…I…" I couldn't even find my words. Staring back at me, with the most beautiful wily smirk I had ever seen, was a man; a beautiful stranger who looked more like a hero from a classic novel than a modern guy who had just arrived from a merciless outside world.

I knew every one of the five hundred people in the village, and I had never seen this man before so he had to have come with one of the groups Emmett had sent back. Strangely, knowing he had been with my brother recently just made me feel connected to him, almost like my brother sent him into my life for a reason.

"I mean, I'm new here and all, but I've heard around that it's against the 'law' to leave the village without permission, and well…this pretty much looks like a prison break," the man said to me lightly. The cadence of his voice, even while being cocky, was unlike anything I had ever heard before. It was velvety and innocent, but very masculine and worldly at the same time. He was definitely an anomaly, and I found myself completely lost in his golden brown eyes as I eagerly waited to hear anything else he had to say.

"Are you ok?" he asked when I didn't respond to whatever he was saying. He probably thought I was mentally unstable…maybe he was right - I should probably go see the village doctor.

"Uh…yeah, I'm fine," I finally managed to say. "I'm just not supposed to be here so I guess I'm a little nervous you're going to tell someone."

He smiled crookedly. "Don't worry about it. I'm not exactly one for rules and conformity anyway."

I laughed once. "Well, being here may be quite an adjustment for you then."

He shrugged. "I doubt I'll stay long….What's with the whole guard dog thing here anyway?"

"Oh, the shape shifters? They protect us from vampires…not that there are ever any here."

He looked slightly troubled. "They can kill vampires? How do they spot one?"

"They can smell them, especially while in wolf form. But vampires are pretty easy to spot for anyone," I told him. "I mean, besides the red eyes, they are vicious monsters who can't control themselves when humans are around."

He laughed again. "And how many vampires have you ever seen?"

I bit my bottom lip and folded my arms. I had teased Jacob about never actually seeing a vampire before, and there I was being teased as well. "I've lived within the safety of the wall most of my life," I admitted. "But the schools teach the kids all about them, and the elders make sure everyone knows everything we should."

"I see," he replied with a grin that made my heart palpitate.

"And how many vampires have you ever seen?" I asked, refusing to allow the curious way my body was reacting to the beautiful stranger side track my current train of thought.

"Enough," he said vaguely.

"How are you still alive if you've been around vampires?" I questioned. Vampires were merciless; there was no way he'd live through crossing paths with one so I highly doubted he ever really saw one either.

"It's kind of a long story," he said dismissively.

A gust of wind suddenly came up, blowing his wild bronze colored hair all over the place, and he abruptly became anxious.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Nothing," he said quietly. He stayed still as if he was listening for something, so I did the same but heard absolutely nothing.

"So…you must have seen my brother recently," I said, hoping for any peace of mind I could find about Em.

"Your brother?" he asked confused as he continued to listen to the phantom noises in the distance.

"Emmett. He was the one who found you and sent you here," I explained, assuming he'd understand.

"Oh…Emmett, right. Yeah, he's fine," he said vacantly. He looked past me so I turned around to see what he was looking at, and that was when I heard footsteps coming quickly towards us.

"Bella!" someone called, and then Jacob came into view. "There you are, thank god," he said relieved.

"What's going on?" I asked concerned.

Jacob suddenly became very still, much like the stranger had done, and then he almost looked like he was sniffing the air. "We need to get you home."

"Why?" I asked, but without answering me he grabbed my arm and tried to forcefully pull me away. "What are you doing?" I asked angrily and then turned back to the guy I had been speaking to…but he was gone. It was like he just disappeared.

"Bella, there's a vampire!" Jacob shouted at me.

"What?" I nearly screamed back. "Here?"

"YES!" he yelled, and then continued to tug me towards my home.

"How? Did it follow the last group of people in?" I asked in a panic, wondering what happened to my friend whose name I never learned. He was new, he wouldn't know where to go for protection…. _Where were we supposed to go?_

"No, the wolves said they weren't followed, but a vamp's definitely been here. It's stench is all over the town."

"Oh my god," I whispered to myself.


	2. Fire Dome

Chapter 2 – Fire Dome

The entire village was in a state of chaos. We had a plan and drills for this sort of thing, but it seemed no one could think or act rationally.

"We'll all be massacred!" Jessica Stanley screamed as she ran past me.

I wasn't exactly sure how everyone heard about the vampire breaching our wall, but everyone was panicking and there was no way we were going to survive that way. So I did the only thing I could think of, I stood up on a bench in the courtyard and started shouting.

"Everyone stop and listen to me!" - I didn't think it would actually work since they were all lost in hysteria, but surprisingly, most people paused and listened to what I had to say. "We know what to do; we've been practicing this for over a decade. I know you're all scared, but we have to remain calm or none of us stands a chance. Remember, live together or die alone!"

And with that, everyone seemed to somehow organize themselves in a rushed but orderly fashion.

Our plan was to go to the fire pit. It was the place where we normally burned our garbage, but it was our only chance against the demons. But when I noticed my father walking in the opposite direction with some of the council members and Sam, the alpha wolf, I decided to follow them.

"Dad, what's going on?" I asked.

"Bella, what are you doing?" he asked in a mix of irritation and concern. "You should be down at the fire pit with everyone else."

"I'm not leaving until I know exactly what's happening."

"There's a vampire, Bella," he said evenly.

"Yes, but there's more, otherwise you'd all be down at the pit also."

"The wolves already caught the vampire…but we're holding it in the hopes of drawing out any others that may have come with it."

"There's more than one?" I asked, feeling like there was a sharp lump in my throat.

"We've only detected one vampire's scent thus far, but if it has a mate or coven they will surely come after it," Sam said grimly. "And we'll be ready when they do."

Something made me look to my left, and that was when I noticed two wolves sitting in the corner…the same two that were supposed to be with Emmett.

"Where's Emmett?" I asked, suddenly feeling my stomach drop.

Sam looked and Charlie questionably, and then Charlie sighed. "Emmett was captured."

"What?" I asked horrified. "Captured by whom?"

"We tried to fight them off Bella, but there were just too many of them," one of the wolves explained. "Quill has four broken ribs; we almost didn't make it back alive."

"Wait…vampires caught Em? Why would they do that? Why wouldn't they just kill him?" I questioned emotionally.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Charlie said calmly.

"There were two other humans with him in their custody and they were taking them somewhere, but we have no idea where. We would have followed, but Sam told us to come home," one of the wolves explained.

"You're needed _here_," Charlie said strongly. "Emmett knew the risk of leaving, and he took it. We can't afford to lose anymore wolves, especially now that our wall has been breached."

"Dad?" I asked incredulously. "It's Emmett, we're talking about here. Are we just going to let him die?"

"He's probably already dead," Charlie said quietly.

"A vampire would have no reason to keep a person alive," Sam added.

"What if they were bringing him to their leaders?" I asked.

"Leaders? I doubt the vampire world has leaders anymore," Sam replied. "Humans are an endangered species now, I'm sure their kind has become ravenous and uncontrollable with thirst. No vampire would save a meal for anyone else when their own lives are on the line. There has to be another reason why they took Emmett prisoner."

They continued to discuss everything, but I figured it was a waste of time since no one knew anything. But if there was even a chance that Emmett was alive, then I wasn't willing to just sit back and do nothing. The answer was obvious, at least in my mind.

With most of the town evacuated, I was able to move around easy enough and I headed to the one place I knew a vampire could be held…the fire dome.

The dome had never been lit, and we never expected it to be either. In the unlikely event that a vampire did find us, we never really thought we'd be able to catch and force it into the makeshift vamp cage. It was actually originally a circus prop, _or so I had been told_, and now the wolves had found a way to keep it blazing with a line of natural gas, which was the _only _way we'd ever be able to detain a vampire.

When I got to the obscure location, I wasn't surprised to see three wolves circling the dome on high alert, which further proved I was in the right place.

But I needed to question the vampire, and I knew the wolves would never allow it, well at least most wouldn't.

"Jake, I need to speak to you," I said with urgency. It was just pure luck that Jake was one of the wolves there, and I was definitely going to use our friendship to my advantage.

The large red wolf stopped pacing, and looked at me in a disapproving way.

"Please, it's important," I insisted.

The Jake wolf looked towards the blaze, and then back at the other wolves and shook his head no.

"There is absolutely no reason why there should be three wolves guarding the vampire anyway. He's stuck in a fireball, he can't go anywhere. The people need more protection, just in case another one comes," I said convincingly.

Suddenly the Jake wolf disappeared and then reemerged in his human form. "What's going on Bella?" he asked concerned.

I leaned closer to him, hopefully so the wolves couldn't hear what I had to say. "I need a minute alone with the vampire," I whispered.

"Over my dead body," he responded quickly.

"Jake, please. He may have information about Emmett."

"Look, I'm sorry about your brother, but there is no way in hell you're talking to that thing."

"It obviously can't hurt me. And you know I'm right about the other wolves being here. They need to be back with the villagers, not here guarding a helpless vampire….What are you planning to do with it anyway?"

"Well, if no other vamps come to try to rescue it, we'll tear it up and burn the pieces….maybe we'll just toss it into the mouth of the volcano… and you are right about the wolves. They are more needed elsewhere, but it's not my call. Sam is in charge, so take it up with him."

"Sam is busy doing other things…like protecting the village. You're the highest ranked of the three of you here, right? Make the decision; Sam can always send them back…. Please?" I asked desperately.

He huffed. "Fine. Go on boys, tell Sam I have it covered here," Jake commanded the others. They definitely didn't look too happy about it, but they did as Jake told them and ran towards the fire pits where everyone else was convened. "But don't even think about asking me to leave."

I nodded. "Thanks," I said gratefully, and then took two steps closer to the dome.

"That's close enough," Jake said while grabbing my arm to stop me.

"I can't even see it," I argued while trying to look through the flames to see the vampire. "It can't hurt me from here… and I want to look the thing in the eye."

I had no idea why, but there was an intense feeling inside my gut that told me that I would be able to detect the creatures lies if I looked it in the eye. But I was definitely nervous. When Jake hesitantly let me take a few more steps closer, I was so scared that I would have chickened out if my brother's life wasn't on the line.

Everything I learned about vampires was terrifying. From their looks to their behavior; they were monsters inside and out…at least that was what I was always told. But when I was finally close enough to see through the fire, my breath caught. "You," I said, no louder than a whisper.

"What?" Jake asked confused, but I just ignored him.

"You're the vampire?" I asked the man standing inside the dome…the very same man who I had met just before who I felt an instant connection with….the beautiful stranger that I was convinced was sent by my brother….No. "There has to be a mistake," I said, though my logical brain knew there wasn't. Wolves smelled vampires; there was no way they'd make such a mistake.

The man smirked at me. "Well, I guess you don't know as much about vampires as you thought you did," he said smugly.

"What the hell is it talking about?" Jake asked angrily. I still ignored him.

"I don't understand. If you're a vampire…why didn't you kill me?" I asked the man. "And why aren't your eyes red?… And why aren't you ugly?" – The last question came out before I had a chance to think rationally.

The vampire chuckled. "You're funny. A riot actually. Why don't you have Puppy-Love over there let me out and we can talk this all through."

"Are you a vampire?" I asked him.

"Yes," he admitted.

"Then why would we ever let you out?"

"Because I have the information you want," he said unexpectedly.

"I don't want to know about your eye color that badly," I told him.

"Not that information," he said smugly. "The information about your brother….Emmett, was it? I know where he is, and unless you let me out, you'll never see him again."

"The only way you're getting out of there is in pieces!" Jacob yelled at him.

"Wow, and I thought humans were supposed to_ care _about each other… isn't that what humanity is all about?" the vampire asked mockingly.

"Not that you would know anything about it!" Jacob snapped.

"Down boy," the vampire said. "You'll work yourself into a tizzy." Then he looked back at me. "When was the last time you had a vet check out your mutt? I think he has emotional issues."

"Shut the hell up!" Jake yelled irately.

"What's a vet?" I asked confused.

"You know, you really aren't in a position to get me angry," Jake threatened him.

"Really? What will happen if I do?" he asked unfazed.

"I'll tear you to pieces," Jake seethed.

And then the vampire laughed. He actually laughed.

I could see Jacob trembling with anger, he was like a lit fuse…and he was about to explode.

"Where is my brother?" I asked again quickly, trying to refocus the conversation before it turned ugly.

"That is the question of the day, isn't it?" the vampire asked casually. "But it's not the question you should be asking."

I shook my head. "Ok fine, what question should I be asking?"

"You should be asking why. Why has your brother been taken captive versus just drained?"

The vampire saying the word 'drained' made me shutter, but I shook away the feeling and forced myself to focus. "_Why_ was he taken?" I asked.

He looked at me intensely, as if he was trying to see right through me, but then he suddenly shook his head and smiled sadistically. "Now, why would I tell you anything? What do I get for my cooperation? Because at the moment," he looked around his fire dome, "I don't see any incentive to open up."

"He doesn't know anything," Jacob said to me, but without taking his eyes off the vampire.

"I _do_ know, but if you were me, would you tell without anything in return?"

"I would never be you," Jake spat.

"What do you want?" I asked the vampire quickly.

"What do you think I want? What all vampires want…"

"Blood?" I guessed.

"To live," he replied. "You take away a vampire's immortality and he has nothing… I'm at your mercy here; my life is in your hands, so I have nothing…except information….information you need."

"We don't need anything from you," Jake growled.

"How do you expect us to let you go when you'll just kill people?" I asked, praying he'd have some level of understanding my dilemma. "I can't trade anyone's life for my brother's."

"What if I promise that I will not harm anyone in your village? Now, let's see, that's my freedom for information about your brother _and_ the town's safety…I think that's more than an even trade."

"Like we could ever trust you?" Jacob said sourly. "And how do we know you'd tell us the truth anyway?" Jacob added.

"You don't, obviously, but really, what choice do you have?" the vampire asked.

"The choice to end this conversation by throwing you into the volcano," Jacob told him.

"That could be fun too," the vampire said unconcerned. "But what makes you think I won't just turn into a bat and fly out of it before I hit the lava?"

"You can do that?" I asked, becoming even more terrified than ever before.

"No, he can't," Jake said annoyed.

"No, but you really should have seen your face," the vampire said to me with a chuckle.

I didn't understand any of it. I never thought a vampire could be so…cocky. This was not the vicious uncontrollable monster of my father's stories; this guy was smart and conniving, and definitely one arrogant son of a bitch.

"This is ridiculous," I said, mostly to myself. Without warning Jacob, I rushed over to the gas line controlling the fire, and pulled it out.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jacob yelled before launching himself at me to turn it back on…but it was too late. The vampire was out of the dome, and surprisingly leaning against a nearby tree, casually waiting for me to name my terms.

Thankfully, I had a plan.

"Obviously, I don't trust you," I told the vampire.

"That's hurtful," the vampire joked.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Jacob asked. He stayed in his human form, but he watched the vampire like a hawk and was prepared to phase at a moment's notice.

"He could have killed me in the village, but he didn't. Obviously he's here for another reason," I told Jake.

"What reason could he possibly have….unless he was planning to tell other's where our village is."

"Sorry pup, but I don't have a mate or a coven, so I certainly don't care enough about anyone else to tell where you are," the vampire said evenly.

"So, why are you here?" I asked him. "And how did you find us?"

He shrugged. "Maybe I was bored….and curious. The world isn't as fun without humans, so imagine my surprise when I was just minding my own business, hunting in the Washington woods, and I got a whiff of the most potent human I had ever smelled. I followed the scent all the way to that little hole in the wall and decided to enter and see what was going on…Never did I imagine there would be an entire wild human village hidden in there. But very interesting indeed."

_Wild_ human village? What the hell did that mean? I would have questioned what he meant by that, but I was abruptly overcome with self-loathing. I never felt guiltier about anything in my entire life. Not only was it my scent that attracted the vampire to our village in the first place, but it was my secret hole that allowed it to breech our wall. It was entirely my fault, and if that vampire ended up killing anyone, then I'd never forgive myself.

"You said you knew why her brother was taken. If you thought humans were all gone, then how would you know he was taken at all?" Jake questioned.

"No, I said I didn't think there were any human_ villages_," the vampire corrected. "Of course there are still humans left, hidden and scattered around the wild. Hunting humans has definitely become more difficult nowadays."

"Whatever," Jacob said irritated. "What do you know about her brother?"

"I'm not one for relationships, so I'm not exactly sure how it works….but I vaguely remember something about honesty from when I was a human. So I'm going to be honest with you…I know nothing about her brother."

Jacob growled, so the vampire continued quickly.

"But I know _why _a human would be taken in that way."

"Ok, why?" I asked, getting increasingly more perturbed.

"Mating colony."

"What?" Jacob and I said at the same time.

"I'm assuming your brother was a strong healthy male of a mature age?"

I nodded.

"Well, he was more than likely taken to the mating colony then. See, vampires aren't mindless idiots," he said to Jacob. "We realized that human numbers were decreasing, and before our food supply was completely gone we started a camp to repopulate." He then turned back to me. "Of course, the camp is run completely by vampires and you'd have no hope of ever getting your brother out, but…" he shrugged. "You're more than welcome to try. You'll just be caught and put into the system, and Puppy Love will just be butchered and fed to the people as fresh meat."

It was horrifying. A camp to breed people for their blood was disgusting and completely nauseating. Only a monster could be so cruel.

"Where is this camp?" Jacob asked. "That is, if you're even telling the truth."

"Believe what you want," the vampire said carelessly. "I gave you information, and you've kept your word and given me my freedom. It's been a pleasure, but I have better things to be doing."

"Not so fast," Jacob said, taking a step closer to him in a threatening way. "I can have the other wolves here in five seconds to rip you apart. If you run, we won't stop until we catch you."

The vampire smirked. "Well, I do have to say, I was surprised you were going to let me go…. Are we going to fight now?" he asked, almost excited in a way I wasn't expecting.

"I would love nothing more."

"Yeah, a fight to the death is definitely going to be entertaining," the vampire agreed, and then readied himself.

"No!" I yelled.

"I can handle him," Jakes said quickly. "And I'm sure I can do it before the other wolves get here."

"No," I repeated. "We need to know where this camp is."

"Oh, I'm not going to tell you that," the vampire said with a laugh.

"No, but you're going to show us," I said.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because the wolves are all linked telepathically. The moment he phases the others will be here soon after, and I assure you, they won't stop until you're dead." I turned to Jake. "And we need him to help us at the camp. Even if he tells us where it is, we'll need his help getting them out."

"Oh, I'm not going to help you do that," the vampire said with a chuckle.

"Yes, you are. If you even want a chance at living, you'll definitely help us."

"So…if I help you get your brother, you'll let me go…completely? I'm not going to have some rabid dogs hunting me for the next couple decades?"

"You have my word," I assured him.

"No, you..." But before Jacob could protest much more, I shut him up by elbowing him in the ribs…a move that hurt me far more than him.

My plan was simple. The vampire would help us get my brother out, and then Jacob could kill him. I would have felt bad about my deception if he wasn't a murderous demon that would probably return to our village and massacre everyone. I couldn't run that risk. The vampire had seen our home, he had to be killed.

"You know, vampires have been around since the beginning of time; I myself, am older than your great great grandfather. Do you really think I'm an idiot?" the vampire asked me, suddenly becoming serious for the first time since we had been speaking.

"No, of course not," I said, feeling anxious again. Regardless of how pompous the vampire had been sounding, I was suddenly reminded of the gravely serious fact that I was speaking to a demon. He wasn't funny or cocky, he was evil, and he could kill me in an instant.

"I'm not going to just help you so you can turn around and try to kill me."

"I promise," I lied, but he put up his hand to stop me.

"I don't trust you, just as you don't trust me. I have no possible way to insure that you won't kill me the moment your brother is free, just as you have no way to insure that I won't try to kill either of you or your villagers. So, here's how this is going to work. I'll help you save your brother….and then Puppy Love and I fight to the death. He wins, obviously I'll be dead and the knowledge of your home location dies with me; I win….and I get to kill both you and your brother…. and pretty much your entire town."

"You won't win," Jacob said assuredly. "And if you do kill me, the other wolves would slaughter you before you even have a chance to get anywhere near the town."

The vampire nodded his head to the side and shrugged his shoulders. "Believe what you want, but that's still my deal."

"This is too risky, we should just kill him now," Jacob said to me. "What if he gets away from us while we're traveling there? The entire village would be in danger."

"I thought you said you can handle a vampire?" I asked him quietly. "Can you?"

Jake thought about it for a moment, and then he nodded doubtlessly. "I can definitely handle this leach."

"Ok, then we take his deal…. It's our only hope of getting Emmett back."

"Sam and Charlie are seriously going to be pissed," Jake grumbled.

"You have a deal," I told the vampire.

He smirked. "Excellent. I can't wait to kill both of you," he said casually. "Of course, I could just kill you both while you sleep."

Jacob growled at him again.

"Don't worry pup, I actually think storming the mating colony then fighting you till the death would be rather fun. I can be patient when it comes to killing Bella."

"How did you know what my name is?" I asked him. It was odd hearing the creature say my name so casually, and it actually sent chills up my spine.

"Oh sweetheart, I know a lot more than your name," he replied condescendingly.

"Like what?"

"Well, your father is Charlie, your brother is Emmett, your mother Renee died when you were a child, and you talk in your sleep."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Have you been stalking me?"

He laughed. "Now, how could I do that? Your little Puppy Love and his pack of merry mutts would never miss the scent of a vampire stalking the local damsels, right?"

"He hasn't been in the village more than today, trust me," Jake said with certainty. "The bloodsucker is just playing a mind game with you, that's what they do. He probably heard people in the village mentioning something about you. Just don't listen to him; we'll all be better off."

"Fine, but we should get going before the other wolves realize what's happening," I told them.

Since Jake planned to stay in human form as long as possible so he didn't tip off the other wolves about our plan, we had to move at a quick human pace. We left with nothing. No food, not change of clothes, and no goodbyes to our families. I hated leaving in that way, especially because I knew the chances of returning were slim, but it was the _only_ way and I refused to sit back and do nothing. I would see my brother again, I had to believe that.


	3. Mind Games

Chapter 3 – Mind Games

It was selfish of me to drag Jacob along on my mission; to risk his life in that way, but I was confident in my father's stories - that a wolf could easily handle a vampire. Everything rested on that belief, and it was imperative that the vampire believed it as well….

"So, how many vampires have you killed now?" I asked Jacob as we walked, trying to sound casual. The vampire was walking several feet in front of us, but I knew he was listening.

Jacob understood my question right away. "Ten," he lied convincingly. We both knew Jake had technically never even seen a real vampire before that day, but it was best to keep the vampire nervous.

"Ten…Wow," the vampire said impressed as he slowed his stride to walk beside us.

"How many wolves have you killed?" Jacob asked him in return.

"Thousands," the vampire replied humorlessly. "Though, I doubt any of them had the ability to change into a human."

Jake and I both rolled our eyes. "Ok, how many shape-shifters have you killed?" Jake clarified.

"None," the vampire admitted. "I didn't even know there was such a thing, which is why I'm so excited to challenge you. I really thought a vampire's immortality could only be threatened by other vampires and fire; this is really exciting news."

"Why would you be excited about having more ways to kill your kind?" Jake asked him.

"Living forever unchallenged can get old after a few centuries," the vampire said absently, and then he chuckled. "Don't get too comfortable with yourself pup, I still fully intend to kill you. But I am curious, how many wolves are there in all?"

"There are currently twelve. And every one of us are stronger than you, trust me."

"Only twelve? How disheartening. Your kind is more endangered than humans. Why don't you just bite more people and increase your numbers?"

"We_ are_ human, idiot, and we don't bite to reproduce. Wolves are born like every other human and we begin to phase during adolescents. It's in our genes, not something that others do to us… I don't even know why I'm wasting my breath talking to you."

"Wow, so you're a biological monster?" the vampire said amused.

"You really need to shut hell up before I shut you up," Jake threatened him.

"What? I just think it would be a far more interesting world if there were more wolves to threaten vampires. We should really forget the human mating colony and start a wolf one. You could all live as wolves all the time and your bitches could just hike up their tails when they come into heat. It would be like a giant dog breeding park."

Jake tightened his hands into fists and was shaking with anger. "There are no female wolves, and if you don't shut the hell up I am going to rip you apart," he fumed through gritted teeth.

"No female wolves? How the hell do you reproduce then?" he asked before looking back at me with a huge mocking grin. "Whoa, he seems like a real catch, Bella. You'll be having a litter of puppies instead of a baby."

"Huh?" I asked confused.

"Shut up!" Jake shouted.

"What's the matter Puppy Love? I mean, I knew you had thoughts of mounting her and all, but I didn't realize you were serious."

"What is he talking about?" I asked Jacob.

"I have no idea," Jake replied bitterly.

"Sure," the vampire said with a laugh.

"If you want to keep your limbs where they are, you'll…"

"Ok, ok," the vampire relented. "You can stop bearing your fangs. It doesn't matter anyway, you'll both be dead soon."

Jacob was about to argue with him, but I grabbed his arm and gave him a look to shut up. Other than information about my brother's rescue, nothing the vampire said was important.

We walked for the next few hours in silence. Jacob was constantly smelling the air and scanning the path ahead of us for any signs of trouble. We eventually came upon what looked like an old highway, and had to decide whether or not to use it.

"It's probably a good idea to stay away from any roads," Jacob figured.

"Why? Do you honestly think vampires limit themselves to old broken human roads?" the vampire asked while turning to follow the road despite Jacob's concerns.

"How do we know he's not leading us into a secret ambush?" Jake asked me quietly.

"What fun would that be?" the vampire answered without looking back at us. "I want to kill you myself, not let others do it. Besides, the colony will have plenty of vampires to attack you, and that's no secret. I have nothing to lie to you about. I speak only the truth."

"Yeah right, we'll see," Jacob mumbled.

After walking a while longer, I couldn't hide the fact that I was beginning to get exhausted.

"We need to take a break," Jacob told the vampire.

"Why would we do that?" the vampire responded, legitimately confused.

"She's tired," Jake told him, as if it were obvious - and I guess it kind of was.

"Why don't you hop on my back; I'll give you a ride," the vampire said to me, actually sounding serious.

"There's no way in hell," Jacob said quickly. "If she rides anyone, it'll be me."

The vampire stared at him for a minute, and then busted out laughing like Jacob just said the funniest thing imaginable. "I bet you would like that," he said through his hysterics.

Jake just shook his head. "Whatever. She's tired, so we're taking a break."

"Fine. I'm not in any rush, so we can hang out for as long as you'd like," the vampire said before falling straight back onto the ground so that he was looking up at the sky. He didn't seem to notice the sharp rocks below him, but I sure as hell wasn't going to lay on them. So I took off my sweatshirt and tried to make myself as comfortable as possible. It was actually good timing, the sun was just falling below the mountains in the distance, and I really didn't want to be traveling in the dark.

"We'll take turns sleeping, ok?" I told Jacob as he came to sit next to me.

"Just close your eyes and rest, I won't let that thing anywhere near you," he replied assuredly.

"Thanks Jacob," I told him graciously, and I think he knew I was thanking him for more than just watching me while I slept.

"You're welcome."

"Do you want a bed time kiss," the vampire teased. "Or a little nuzzling and a crotch sniff."

Jacob closed his eyes to try to control his anger, but otherwise we ignored him.

It felt like I had just closed my eyes when I heard a noise and opened them abruptly, and it was pitch black out. "Jacob?" I asked terrified.

"Shhh, it's ok, I'm right here. Everything is fine, you can sleep."

I was still tired, but I forced myself to sit up. "No, it's your turn to sleep."

"Bella, you can't see and there's no way you can watch the vampire."

"Yeah, cuz I might just lose all control and kill you now," the vampire said from somewhere in the darkness.

"Jacob, he would have killed me by now if he wanted to," I told him, dismissing the vampire yet again. "Besides, if you don't sleep you're going to lose your strength. You need as much energy as possible if we're going to face more vampires."

He couldn't argue with that. "Stay close to me. If he so much as moves then wake me up," he instructed.

"Ok," I agreed.

Jake was out quickly, and I was left in a dark uncomfortable silence with the vampire. Thankfully, the moon was bright that night and my eyes were able to adjust to the light so I could see better than when I first woke up, but it was still nerve racking.

Every hair on my arms was standing up straight, and I wasn't sure if it was from the cold, or my anxiety. Suddenly an owl hooted and I nearly lost it… I was definitely more anxious than cold.

The vampire chuckled. "You're a jumpy little thing, aren't you?"

Jacob stirred momentarily from my abrupt movement, but then he settled back down and started snoring once again.

The vampire snorted. "A lot of good he'd be if trouble did arise. I could snap your neck right now and he'd never know it."

"He'd wake up if I needed him," I lied nervously. Jacob was actually a really heavy sleeper, though I doubted he even knew that otherwise he'd never agree to sleep on the trip at all. The only reason I knew was because he used to fall asleep in school and the teacher would have to actually smack him with a yard stick to wake him up.

The vampire called my bluff and unexpectedly stood up and walked two steps closer to me. I scooted away, but he just chuckled and walked even closer. "Relax; I'm not going to hurt you."

"Then what are you doing?" I asked him.

"I just want to see something," he said casually. He bent down to Jacob, and my heart nearly beat out of my chest but I didn't say a word. My entire body was shaking, but I was locked inside a prison of my own fear so I couldn't react to what was happening. I watched absolutely petrified as he slowly reached out to Jacob's unconscious form and grabbed his limp arm…and then dropped it and chuckled. "Wow, he really is out, isn't he? There could be an entire vampire attack going on around him and he'd never know. Some guard dog he is."

I was shocked. The vampire could have easily killed him right then and there…but he didn't, and I really didn't understand why.

I swallowed hard. "What is your deal?" I asked, probably pushing my luck.

"What do you mean? I don't have a deal."

"Obviously you do. You could have killed me at the village….and now, but you didn't, and you could have killed Jacob right then, but you didn't. So…what's your deal?"

"I already told you, I've been bored and storming the mating colony sounds fun; if I kill either of you now, I'd lose my reason for doing it. Don't worry, I fully plan to kill you afterwards, but until then you're safe… at least from me."

I shivered. "Are there other vampires around?"

"Not at the moment, but there will be. We're still too close to the volcano; give it a couple days and we'll definitely cross paths with a few."

"And what then? How will we ever make it to the mating colony if we have to cross vampires on our way?"

"I'll think of something," he said, completely unconcerned. "If there isn't a strong wind and you stay close to wolf boy, they may not smell you."

"How many vampires do you think are out there?" I asked nervously.

"In all?" he asked. I nodded, so he thought about it for a moment. "Well, it's against the law to create any more right now…you know, since the food supply is already too low, but I'd say….millions. Our numbers have definitely decreased over the past decade though. Vamps have become very animalistic and many times fight till the death over food, so….I'm sure eventually we'll all be just as endangered as humans."

"Why aren't you…ravenous? I mean, it must be hard to be around us when you're starving."

"I'm not starving…and for the record, Puppy Love smells nothing like food."

"Really? What does he smell like?"

He thought about it. "I'd imagine it's comparable to garbage for you. His blood has a hint of the 'food' smell, but it's not something that's appealing. Like it's gone rotten or something."

"That…interesting," I said, not knowing how else to describe that bit of information. "Why aren't you starving? …. Did you kill someone in my village?" I asked horrified.

He laughed. "No… unfortunately the shortage of humans has forced some of us into finding an ulterior blood source."

I scrunched my brows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Animals," he stated. "Trust me, it's nowhere near as good as human blood and my diet is not by choice, but…it's sustained me enough to be able to control my urges. Most vampires would never lower themselves to such a thing and would rather starve, but I'm more practical. Although, I do have to say, you certainly make it hard for me to keep to my side of our deal."

"It must not be too hard if your desire to have some…_fun_ outweighs your craving," I said, a little more condescending then I intended.

"No, I just know I can have both if I'm patient."

I shook my head slowly. "Jacob will kill you."

"We'll see."

We were silent for what felt like hours, but then I thought of something. "Hey, if we're going to run into other vampires on this journey, maybe we should know your name…you know, so we don't just call you 'vampire' and expose ourselves."

"I really don't know what you think is going to happen, but I guarantee if you have to speak in front of a vampire, you'll be dead."

"Oh."

"But my name is Edward," he said unexpectedly, taking me aback. I had been reading 'Sense and Sensibility' at home, and one of the character's names was 'Edward'. I had thought it was odd and unique, so to hear that the vampire shared the name was sort of surreal. I never finished that story, and probably never would, but the thing I remembered most about Edward was that he was described as being unattractive. The demon Edward before me definitely didn't have that in common with his namesake, but perhaps this Edward's ugliness was on the inside.

"Why aren't you're eyes red?" I asked after thinking about his appearance.

"The animal blood dilutes the color," he explained. "Most vampires nowadays have black eyes from starvation, so I'm luckier than them. But don't worry, I'm sure my eyes will be back to their natural red after I win the death match against Puppy Love and drink your blood," he said casually.

I shook my head and was about to tell him that there was no way he was going to win, but I bit my tongue; there was no point in arguing.

"Why do you keep calling Jacob 'Puppy Love'?" I asked, deciding that was a more peaceful topic.

"Aren't you full of questions?" he asked with a mix of amusement and annoyance.

I shrugged. "What else are we supposed to talk about?"

"We're not supposed to talk at all. Nothing a human has to say can hold my interest; you can't possibly fathom the speed at which my brain works."

"You're right…we shouldn't be talking. I'm sure everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie anyway. I bet your name isn't even Edward."

"Go on and believe what you want…. But a little advice," he leaned in closer to me as if he had a secret. "I'd hope Puppy Love doesn't make it back alive if I were you."

I crossed my arms and shook my head again. I didn't believe anything he had to say…except I was curious as to what he was talking about. "Why would I ever hope that?" I asked bitterly.

"If you knew the plans he and your father have for you…"

"What plans?"

"Let's just say a mating colony wouldn't be so bad when it comes to your future. At least you'd give birth to a human."

"Stop being cryptic and just say whatever it is that you're saying," I said frustrated.

"My god, you are so dense. Your father has _promised_ you to the mutt. Like I said earlier, you'll be having a litter of puppies if you go back home."

I was absolutely stunned. Why would he even say such a thing? Even if my father was so cruel as to arrange my marriage, there was no way the vampire would know anything about it, so to be upset was ridiculous…except I was upset.

"How would you know?" I asked, praying for some kind of proof that the creature was lying.

"Besides the obvious fact that the dog looks at you like you're a bitch in heat, I can read minds…and I definitely heard way more than I'd prefer in the dog's mind."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You honestly expect me to believe that you read minds? Fine, what am I thinking right now?"

He smirked. "I have no idea. I've never encountered a human or vampire that I couldn't hear before, but for whatever reason your mind is completely blocked from me. I suppose that was why I was so interested in you when we met at the wall…well, that and the fact that you smell absolutely delicious."

"Can all vampires read minds?" I asked warily, ignoring his 'delicious' comment.

"Can all humans wiggle their ears?"

"No," I replied sourly. "Are you always so…pompous?"

"Only when the occasion calls for it."

There was no reason to believe him about any of it, but I found myself believing him anyway - and I was absolutely pissed.

How dare my father promise me to anyone? I had no intentions of marrying at all, especially not to Jacob. He was more like a brother to me and the thought of him being more than that was absolutely nauseating. Of course I loved him, but definitely not like that.

I was literally seeing red, and the moment the sun came back up, I kicked Jacob in the chest to wake him up. It didn't hurt him, I doubted I could ever hurt him physically, but a simple nudge just wasn't enough to get the job done and I couldn't wait any longer to talk to him.

"Don't worry, I'll save you!" Jacob said after I kicked him.

Edward snickered at him.

"I'm not in any danger," I told Jacob as he took a minute to look around and get his wits back. "But you are," I added while punching him in the face. "SHIT!"

"Whoa, did you just break your hand?" Jacob asked concerned as he reached for me.

"Don't touch me!" I shouted at him.

"Bella, what's going on?" he asked me, but eyed Edward suspiciously.

"Did my dad promise me to you?" I asked him irately.

"What?" he asked shocked. "Why…wha…" he had no idea how to respond.

"It's a yes or no question, Jacob."

"Fine. No, Charlie didn't promise you to me. Where is this coming from, Bella?"

I glared at Edward, and Jacob noticed.

"What, him? The vampire told you this?" Jake asked incredulously.

Edward just snickered again.

"Bella, don't you get it, he's playing more mind games with you. He's trying to turn you against me, and this is only our second day. Imagine how bad it's going to get the further we go. We should just end this now and go home."

"Yeah Bella," Edward agreed. "Go home to the puppy mill."

"You, shut up!" Jacob yelled at him. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Then what is he talking about?" I asked Jacob.

"I have no idea!"

"He can read minds," I warned him.

Jacob stared at me in shock, and then looked past me at Edward again.

"You're thinking that you're seriously screwed," Edward answered his unasked question with a sadistic smirk.

Jacob closed his eyes tightly, and then looked back at me with a guilty expression. "Charlie wasn't promising you to me…he simply told my dad that he would be honored if we ended up together."

Edward snorted purposely, so I had a feeling there was more. I crossed my arms in front of my body and tapped my foot. "And?"

Jacob huffed. "And he would encourage you to be with me."

At that point Edward was laughing hysterically, but Jacob and I tried to ignore him.

"How could you do that to me?" I asked my _ex_ best friend. "How could my dad do that? And the worst part is that I had to hear about it from…from an arrogant vampire jerk."

"No one would ever force you into anything," Jacob said quickly. "Charlie just thought we'd be good together…we all kind of thought that was our natural path and he was just trying to be supportive."

"Supportive?" I shouted. "How is _'encouraging me to be with you'_ being supportive? That sounds more like coercion, if you ask me."

"No, Bella, it wasn't like that…I just-"

"I don't love you like that," I said quickly before he could finish his sentence.

He paused and looked absolutely devastated.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. I didn't want to hurt him, but I couldn't be with him like that and the last thing I wanted was to lead him on. But then I realized that if he did feel that way about me, it was probably the reason why he went along with the trip in the first place. "Look…why don't you go back home. Edward is right; this is probably an impossible mission anyway."

"Who's Edward?" Jacob asked, suddenly confused.

"The vampire," I said quietly.

Jacob looked at Edward, and then he became angry. "Ok, don't start calling him a name like that!" he told me sternly. "That thing is not a person, so don't give it a person's name. You can't ever let your guard down and forget that it's a demon Bella, because that's what it wants from you. It wants you to get angry at me. It wants to drive a wedge between us so I'll leave you alone with it. Regardless of what our personal future holds, I will never leave you alone with that thing. So if you really think this is an impossible mission, then let me kill it now and we can both go home."

"I don't want you to risk your life here with me if you're doing it because you think that we're going to end up together…because we're not," I told him as gently as possible. "You're my best friend….I love you like a brother, but we'll never be anything more than that."

"We may feel differently about each other, but I still could never leave you. I can accept that we won't be together romantically, but I can't accept that I'll never see you again, and that's exactly what will happen if I leave you here with him."

I hated to admit it, but he was right; I needed him there with me for protection. I swallowed roughly. "So we continue on?"

"And you need to ignore everything that thing says to you, especially while I'm asleep."

I looked over at Edward, who strangely had a bitter expression on his face, and then I sighed. "I'll try," I told Jacob.

I couldn't make any promises about ignoring Edward, because the truth was that he actually fascinated me and I had no idea why. He was nothing like the way I expected a vampire to be, and talking to him was different than anyone else I had ever talked to before. He was frustrating and irritating, but I found myself eager to hear anything else he had to say. Perhaps that was the reason why Jacob was right. Perhaps Edward was playing mind games with me and it was in our best interest for me to block him out completely. The fact that he couldn't read my mind was a sign. I couldn't give him any power over me and the more I spoke to him, the more he could learn my mental weaknesses. I refused to be weak.


	4. Unexpected

Chapter 4 – Unexpected

"Where are we going, exactly?" I asked Edward as we continued to walk on the seemingly endless route to the mating colony. I wasn't trying to complain, but I just needed to know in my mind how long it would take so I could keep myself going.

"If I told you where it is, you might just try to kill me now and then get the rest of the mutts together to storm the place without me, and there is no way I want to miss that kind of fun," Edward replied casually.

"Ok, how long do you think it'll take for us to get there?" I clarified.

"Walking at this speed it could take weeks."

"Weeks?" I said wearily.

"How long did you think it would take?" Jacob asked me sourly. Since I told him that we'd never be a couple, Jake didn't try as hard to agree with everything I said and did. He wasn't trying to impress me anymore, and I had to admit, I was grateful. I never noticed the change in him before, but over the past couple years Jake had acted differently towards me, and I missed the way he used to be when we both thought of the other as nothing more than a friend. Things were much simpler then, and the last thing we needed on our mission was complicated relationship issues.

I shrugged off Jake's annoyed rhetorical question, and we walked in silence for a while before Edward abruptly froze.

"What is it?" I asked.

Jacob smelled the air for signs of trouble, and whatever he smelled definitely didn't concern him as much as Edward seemed to be - he may have even smiled a bit.

"What's going on?" I asked again.

Edward looked between Jacob and me with an almost panicked expression, and then he moved so fast that I didn't even see him do it. One second I was watching him curiously, and the next I was hanging onto his back and he was running. We were going at a speed that made it difficult to breathe, and the trees blurred by so quickly that I was sure we'd run into one. I put my head down on his shoulder to try to shield some of the wind, but it didn't really help. In a way though, I was glad; if I could breathe then I'd be able to think straight and freak myself out from the fact that I was clinging onto the back of a vampire. But he must have noticed my struggle, because he suddenly changed direction and climbed straight up a tree.

When we reached the top, Edward stopped and put me down next to him on a branch, and I was finally able to catch my breath. "What the hell is going on?"

But he didn't have to answer me; I saw the three wolves before they reached the bottom of the tree. They began growling and jumping up at us, but Edward relaxed and snickered. "They can't reach us up here."

I recognized the wolves right away, so I got angry. "Sam, Paul, Jared, stop it!" I shouted at them.

"They're not going to stop until I'm dead," Edward explained. "You know, you're really stupid for coming after us!" he yelled down at them. "I may have sent a bunch of vamps back to your home, and now you won't be there to protect the people!"

The wolves stopped snapping and looked at each other.

"He didn't send anyone," I told them annoyed. "Jacob and I have been with him the entire time."

The wolves immediately began growling and jumping again. They were fixated on Edward and I knew why. They needed to make sure he didn't do exactly what he had just said - send other vampires back to the village and expose our hidden location. I understood why they wanted him dead, but I still couldn't allow it to happen.

"Please Sam, I need him to save Emmett," I begged the black wolf below us. "Jacob!"

"They're not going to listen to me," Jake said as he walked casually onto the scene, still in his human form. "They're pissed at me for going along with this."

"Turn into a wolf and explain it to them," I told him.

"I tried explaining already, but they don't care our reasons, they just want to kill him."

"How do you even know what they said if you're not a wolf to hear them?"

He shrugged. "It's what I would have said."

Jared jumped on Paul's back to try to get higher up to us, but he still couldn't reach.

"Sam, please," I asked again hopelessly.

"Don't worry about it, Bella; they don't have a chance at getting me," Edward assured me lightly. "I can stay up here much longer than they can snap at me down there. _Especially since I have you as a snack_."

"Ok, that's it, bring her down!" Jacob demanded.

"Why would I?" Edward asked cockily. "It's not like _I've_ got somewhere to be or anyone to save. I can just hop from tree to tree until you mutts give up. And you _will_ give up, you have to sleep eventually."

"Jacob, this is ridiculous!" I called to him angrily. "Just because I don't want to be with you, doesn't give you the right to call in Sam."

"I never called him in," Jake replied defensively. "I wouldn't do that to you. Besides, when could I have? I've been with you the entire time and you know I haven't phased. They just must have tracked us."

"You know, come to think of it, I don't feel like hanging out for you mutts to get tired," Edward said unexpectedly. He suddenly grabbed me around my waist, and then jumped off the tree. We were high so the fall was terrifying, but somehow we landed softly, and then he pulled me in front of him and held me tightly in an aggressive way.

"Come any closer and she's dead," he threatened the wolves. Jake immediately phased and joined the other three in snarling at him viciously. "I wouldn't if I were you," Edward told them, responding to whatever plan they were concocting in their minds. And then he started chuckling. "They all think you're crazy Bella. And they definitely don't think Jacob can handle me."

Then, for a reason I didn't understand, Jacob jumped in front of the other three and faced them bearing his fangs.

"This is definitely fun," Edward said to me excitedly.

"What's going on?" I asked confused.

"The three wolves decided they would charge me despite the fact your life is in on the line. Sam even had the audacity to tell Jacob that your father would want it that way, so then Jacob got angry and decided he'd stand in front of them. He's not willing to let them sacrifice you for the good of the village."

I swallowed hard. "Sam, you don't have to fight each other. The vampire isn't going to hurt anyone, we won't let him. And after we find Emmett, Jacob will take care of him," I said slowly, hoping Edward's narcissism wouldn't let my words affect his willingness to continue with our deal. "Jacob _can_ kill him, and he will."

Edward chuckled, but otherwise let my comment go. "Nope, they're not going for it," he translated Sam's decision after a minute. "They're willing to go through you _and_ Jacob to kill me if they have to."

It appeared as if Jacob was still trying to reason with them, but suddenly the discussion was over and the wolves lunged at us. Paul attacked Jacob, and Sam and Jared both went after Edward. He shoved me to the side and punched Sam square in the jaw, then turned and shoved Jared away before he could sink his fangs into him. Edward surprised me by being able to hold his own against the two wolves, but when Jacob noticed that I was safely away from Edward, he turned and joined the others in attacking him.

Edward didn't stand a chance against four wolves, and I knew my only hope at saving my brother was about to be killed with him.

"Please stop!" I cried, but they didn't listen to me. They circled Edward, and then tackled him for the kill….except somehow he managed to jump away from the dog-pile. He took off running faster than I had ever seen anything move in my life. The wolves chased him, but regardless of whether or not they ended up catching him, I lost all hope.

The vampire was gone, and so was Emmett.

I fell down to the forest floor, and just sobbed. There was nothing else I could do.

After I cried for so long that I felt like I had run out of tears, I sat there and looked around having no idea what to do or where to go. I didn't even know where I was and the wolves were probably miles away by then. But even if they weren't, how was I supposed to just return home after everything that happened? How was I supposed to look my father in the eye knowing what he had planned for me and Jacob, or even the fact that I knew Sam was probably right, that he would have told them to sacrifice me in order to kill Edward? I understood that my life wasn't as important as the entire towns', but still, it was hard to take that my own father would be willing to do such a thing, _even for the greater good_.

But the world didn't offer choices anymore; the village was the only place for a human to be, so that's where I had to go back to.

I began walking in the direction Edward had run us from, except he had gone so fast that I wasn't sure which direction it was. But it didn't matter; I knew the wolves would come back for me when they were done shedding Edward into pieces – The thought curiously made me begin to cry all over again. _I guess I had tears left after all_.

But the crying didn't last long.

I felt hallow. Numb. As if there was nothing left inside of me. My brother was gone, and I hated my best friend and father with a passion so a part of me would rather die than return to the village where my life was meaningless. I never thought I could feel so empty and betrayed, but that's exactly how I felt, and when Jacob finally did return, I didn't even care anymore.

"Don't you want to know what happened?" he asked as he followed me for a while without speaking.

"Nope," I replied emotionlessly.

"We lost him," he said unexpectedly.

"You lost him?" I asked, feeling a spark of hope again. Perhaps all wasn't lost. "So…what does that mean?"

"Sam and the others went back to the village to protect the people, and you and I are going to keep looking for the vampire so we can still force him to take us to the mating colony."

"Really? But if you lost him…"

"Man, he has to be the fastest vampire alive," Jacob said reflectively. "We lost his trail in a river back there, but I'm sure if we follow the water I'll find it eventually. Sam just didn't want to waste any more time tracking when it could be heading back to the village with more vampires to kill everyone."

"But….if we do find Edward, Sam is going to make you kill him; he won't let us try to find Emmett."

Jacob sighed. "He won't know either way. When I stood against him I lost my mental link to the pack, so it seems I've gone rogue. I told Sam verbally that I wouldn't stop until I killed the vampire, but he doesn't have much faith in me."

"So even when you're a wolf they won't know our plans?"

"Nope. It's just us, but that's not a good thing, Bella. If we need help…"

"I wouldn't want them risking their lives to come after us anyway," I interrupted him. "I don't want you risking your life for me either."

"But you don't have a choice when it comes to me. You need my help, and we both know it."

I nodded. "I'm being selfish, Jacob, I know I am, but you're right; I'm only human, and I can't physically do this without your protection."

"Well, that's my job as a shape-shifter….to protect people, and that's what I'm going to do. Besides, if I get to kill that vampire at the end of all of this, I'll be protecting the village as well."

So with renewed faith, Jake and I set off towards the river, and then followed the water's edge until the sun lowered in the sky. I was still angry with Jacob, hell I was angry at everyone I had ever known, but he was my only hope. He could smell vampires, I couldn't. He could fight off vampires, I couldn't. The chance of seeing my brother again was slim, but that chance was completely nonexistent without Jake's help.

When it was too dark for me to see the ground below my feet, we decided to make a fire and call it a night.

"We'll never find Edward at this pace," I said solemnly. "He's so fast…and he doesn't need to do _this_," I said, gesturing towards the fire. "He'll never rest, so how can we ever catch him?"

"I'm not sure," Jake admitted.

"I'm still shocked by the way he moved," I mused. "I really thought he was a goner with four wolves against him."

Jacob sighed. "I know what you mean. It kind of scares me," he admitted. "What if I can't handle vampires after all? This really could be a suicide mission."

I shook my head. "We're not going to think like that," I said strongly. "We will do this. We'll find Edward, force him to help us, and then we'll get Emmett. I have to believe that."

"Yeah, well, now that I've seen the vamp in action, I know more what to expect. I'm sure I'll be able to handle him next time."

"Of course you will."

I think we were both fooling ourselves with our confidence, but that was ok, that's what we had to do to keep us going. All we really needed was to get Edward back. If we could convince him to help us again, then we still had a chance.

And then there was a low rumbling sound and I looked at Jake questionably. "Was that your stomach?"

"Yeah, we haven't eaten in a couple days."

I sighed. "I'll hunt in the morning," I told him. I often went a few days without eating, we all did, that was just the way our world was at that time, so I didn't really notice that it had been that long.

Emmett had trained me well. I knew the forest and could easily survive off the land, so the next day we planned to continue our search for Edward, but before that we'd need to refuel to get our strength back.

"You know, as a wolf, I can probably do a little better in the hunting department than a bow-less archer," Jake said with a grin as he poked at the fire with a stick.

"I fully intend to make a bow with twine and sticks," I rebutted.

"You can do that?" he asked surprised.

"Of course I can. Emmett taught me everything I need to know."

"Still, the animal in me will prove to be a better hunter, and I'll get the kill…but because I'm such a cool guy, you can have the first pick of meat."

"Oh, will you shut up!" a smug, annoyed voice said from somewhere in the darkness, and then he walked into view. "I mean really, your attempts to win her affections are nauseating." Jacob and I just stared at Edward stunned as he casually walked over to the fire and dropped a large buck off his shoulders to the ground. "Besides, if we're competing in hunting, obviously I've already won…and I've even drained all the blood out of it for you."

_Was my mouth hanging open?_ - I couldn't be sure. He had no reason to come back, he was free and clear, and yet there he was, present under his own free will….and he even brought us dinner.

Jacob immediately became suspicious. "Where are your friends?"

"What friends?" Edward asked amused, obviously already knowing what he was asking by reading his mind. "I told you already, I don't have a coven or a pack like you do. I'm just me…looking forward to storming the mating colony….and I assume the fight to the death is still on between us afterwards?"

"Bet your ass it is," Jacob replied quickly.

"Great. I can't wait."

The three of us sat there in awkward silence for a few minutes, not exactly sure what to think about the situation. The entire thing was so surreal that I wasn't sure if I should be thankful, or scared shitless that Edward did, in fact, have some kind of ulterior motive. Perhaps he really did just want to fight Jacob and wasn't concerned about dying along the way.

I sighed and then decided that there was no point in stressing about it at the moment. Instead, I busied myself by taking out my pocket knife, and began skinning the deer so Jacob and I could eat. Edward wasn't kidding when he said it was drained, the carcass was completely bloodless as if it were held upside down for several days, which I was grateful for. I could hunt and skin a buck with the best of them, but the blood could be potent at times and was definitely the most disgusting part of it.

"Bella, we're not eating that," Jacob said quickly.

"Why not?" I asked confused.

"The leech probably left its venom inside of it."

Edward laughed. "It's dead, isn't it?" he asked condescendingly. "That means I sucked everything out. There's no venom left, and even if there was, it wouldn't hurt you. It has to be injected into someone's bloodstream for it to be effective."

Jacob crossed his arms. "It's still gross."

"Well, I'm going to eat it," I said before continuing with the butchering. "We need the protein."

Jake finally agreed despite himself.

After we roasted the meat on the fire and ate our fill, I told Jake he could take the first turn sleeping since I knew he had done a lot of running that day. I doubted I could sleep anyway, at least not right away.

Jake was out in record time, and once again I was left alone in the night with Edward.

"So…why'd you come back?" I asked, though I already knew he'd give the same answer he had been giving since we started the trip - that he was bored in his immortality and looking for some excitement - Except he didn't; he just answered me by chuckling quietly to himself. "Well, thank you, whatever your reason," I said graciously.

"Don't thank me yet, it may just turn out to be the biggest regret of your life," he said strangely.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What will I regret? Storming the mating colony to find my brother…or trusting you enough to be thankful you're back to help?"

"Both," he replied seriously.

I took a deep breath, and silently prayed he was wrong.


	5. Doubt

Chapter 5 – Doubt

Since Jacob was able to phase without risking the other wolves learning our location and intervening again, we could travel at a much faster speed. I got on his wolf back and kept my head down as he and Edward ran all the way through what used to be Oregon. They ran us for an undefinable distance, and by the time the sun sank low in the sky, I noticed that the forest trees had morphed into desert cacti. I had never been out of the Washington forest before, but I read about deserts in school so I was fairly certain we had to be somewhere between the old Nevada and what was left of Texas.

"What's going on?" I asked Edward as we slowed and finally came to a stop. Jacob echoed my question with a huff.

"We'll make camp here tonight, and then we'll need to take it slow from here on out," he told us.

"Why?"

"In the morning we'll be officially entering vamp territory," he explained unexpectedly. I wasn't sure why I was surprised, I knew that was where we were headed, but I guess it didn't really hit me until that moment. I immediately tensed, and Jacob began smelling the air for any recent trails. "You can phase if you want," Edward said, assumedly answering Jacob's thoughts. "But tomorrow you'll need to remain a wolf all day. Vampire passer-byers will tolerate your presence much more if they think you're my pet."

"Your pet?" I asked, taken aback. "Vampires have pets?"

"Not in the conventional sense, but some do have conquests or _possessions_; anything dangerous that we manage to overtake and control is held with respect. For instance, several decades ago I knew a vampire in Alaska that had a yeti. Other vampires would come from all over to see the thing, and they definitely watched themselves while there. If someone can handle a yeti, then surely they wouldn't make a good adversary."

"A yeti?" I asked skeptically. "As in bigfoot?"

"More like an abominable snowman, but basically the same thing."

I looked at Jake and almost chuckled at the sight of the large wolf rolling his eyes; although, in a world of vampires and shape shifters, I supposed a yeti wasn't completely unbelievable.

Jacob phased and dressed, and once again we built a fire and planned to take turns sleeping. Usually Edward was chatty and smug during our alone times as Jake slept, but that evening he didn't say a word and I found myself having a hard time staying awake. I had become increasingly more comfortable in his presence, which made fighting sleep that much more difficult.

The next morning I woke up without even remembering falling asleep, and noticed that Jacob was still out as well. After a moment of panic, I looked around and was relieved to see Edward in the exact same position he had been the night before. He had returned to us on his own free will, but I would never cease to be amazed that he didn't disappear or even hurt us in our unconsciousness. He truly was a mysterious and intriguing creature.

"So where are we…about?" I asked quietly, not wanting to wake Jacob just yet so I could have a few minutes 'alone' with Edward.

"Arizona," he said emotionlessly.

"What's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"Nothing yet, I've just overlooked something and I'm trying to think of a way to rectify it."

"What?" I asked clueless.

"The weather. The summer heat is making your smell even more potent," he said evenly.

I hadn't even noticed the heat until that moment, so I tried to inconspicuously smell myself, but of course he noticed.

"Trust me; I've had a horrendously difficult time restraining myself from you all night," he stated.

I should have been horrified, but for whatever reason his comment made me blush. "So…" I cleared my throat. "What should we... I mean, what should I do?" I asked, having a hard time thinking straight.

"There's a small spring back there…It's probably the last one we'll come across for a while; why don't you go fill up your water satchel and bathe the best you can. If we keep our trek slow, hopefully you won't sweat too much more and you'll go virtually unnoticed. Unfortunately, you'll still have to stay close to Puppy Love to mask the sound of your heartbeat."

I shrugged - at least I didn't have to ride him anymore. Riding Jacob was more time efficient, but it was definitely awkward and uncomfortable, especially knowing how he really felt for me.

"Are there any vampires close by?" I asked, feeling nervous about the idea of bathing alone in vamp infested land.

"Not here. A couple miles away though, so you better go now."

I nodded, but still didn't move.

"What is it?" he asked.

"How close does a vampire have to be for you to…hear him?"

He smiled crookedly. "Why Bella, are you scared?"

"Why do you sound so shocked? We're about to encounter a bunch of man eating monsters, of course I'm scared."

"Well, I was just under the impression that you weren't afraid of anything."

"What gave you that impression?"

"You've never been afraid of me. Not even when I held you against me and threatened your life. Your heart didn't even speed."

"Maybe I'm not afraid of _you_," I told him, surprising even myself with the sincerity of my statement. "Or maybe I'm just really good and hiding my fears. But I'm definitely afraid of _something_."

"Losing your brother for good," he guessed seriously, but then added – "and going home without him only to be forced into a loveless marriage and a puppy breeding mill."

I nodded slowly. "But I was going to say that most vampires _do_ scare me."

"Just not_ this_ vampire?" he asked with a crooked grin while pointing at himself.

I bit my bottom lip. "You won't hurt me," I said with sudden shaky confidence.

"I'm glad one of us thinks so," he replied with a sadistic grin, and I couldn't decipher just how serious he was. "Come on, I'll walk you over the spring and guard you while you bathe," he then said with his light tone returning full force.

"I don't know where you come from, but women in my village don't bathe while in the presence of a men they're not married to," I joked back.

"Suit yourself and bathe alone then," he challenged me. "Or you could always wait for Jacob to wake up. I'm sure there is no rule in your village about bathing in front of your pet dog, and just think how happy that would make him."

_Ugh!_ He went too far with that one. "Fine, come with me, but you have to promise not to look."

"You have my word…and trust me, the word of a vampire is definitely honorable."

I couldn't help but laugh at that one. "Sure it is."

"Have I given you any reason to not trust me thus far?" he rebutted.

"No, but I definitely keep waiting."

"That hurts?" he said with faux offense. "But we both know why you really want me to betray you."

"And why's that?" I asked amused.

"Because if I follow through with everything I say I will, you'll have to accept the fact that your father is a liar. Everything he said about vampires, everything he teaches the villagers about the uncontrollable, merciless, soulless, demons…are blatant untruths. If you return home - and that is a big _if_ – you know you'll never look at your father the same way again. He has been lying to you your entire life, and then, when you're old enough to think for yourself, he sells you to a puppy mill. It's disgusting really."

"You don't know my father," I said defensively.

"You're right, I don't know him. I only know what Puppy Love knows, and the rest I figured out for myself."

"Why are you saying this to me?" I asked with tears flooding my vision. I wasn't a crier, but the pain of my father's betrayal was still raw and Edward was pouring salt on my open wound, and we both knew he was doing it on purpose.

"Because we're about to jump into the fight of your life, and you need to do it with your eyes wide open. How important is your brother to you?"

I thought about Emmett and the way he had always reined my father in and stood up for me when no one else would. Emmett was my life line, and everything was meaningless without him. "He's everything to me," I replied honestly.

"Then you can't be afraid of vampires….because there is no way you'll make it out alive if you are. We can smell fear, Bella, and any vampire we pass will smell you a mile away of you don't get control of your emotions. Now, go and take a bath. I'll wait for you here, and if trouble arises, I'll be by your side in a flash," he said intensely.

I nodded, and with newfound determination I walked towards the spring alone. Edward was right, I couldn't be afraid. The worst thing that could possibly happen is death…and I refused to be afraid of dying. It was just a natural part of life, and if my time on the planet was over, then there was nothing anyone could do about it.

I bathed quickly without any issues, but I decided to keep my clothes on because my foul stench had seeped onto my clothes and they too needed to be washed. And I was grateful that I did stay dressed, because before I could even finish, Jacob wolf came running up to the water's edge looking distraught.

"What's wrong?" I asked him stupidly, he obviously couldn't answer me in his wolf form. But I had to admit, I was proud of the way I didn't panic from his panicked expression. I really was past being afraid…at least for now.

Edward walked up casually behind him. "Nothing is wrong. He just woke up and saw that you were gone, _and he got a little concerned_." Edward said that last few words mockingly. "See pup? I told you she was absolutely fine."

Jacob wolf whimpered.

"No, I told you, you need to stay in wolf form," Edward responded to whatever Jacob was thinking. "As soon as Bella is dry, we'll head into town… and then things will finally get fun."

"Vampires live in towns?" I asked surprised.

"There's only a few that I know of and usually there's a reason for it. This town was created to be close to the mating colony. Vampires think the closer they are to the humans, the more of a chance they'll get scraps."

"Scraps?"

"The older humans, or the ones who can't reproduce, are put into the blood bank. They have a tube slowly draining their blood to be given out in rations to the town. They call it scraps, because the amount of blood allotted per vampire is so small that it doesn't even take the edge off their thirst. It's just enough to survive on without completely shutting down. The scraps are only distributed to vampires whose eyes have gone the darkest black."

"What happens to the people giving the blood?"

"Well, eventually they die. They are tube fed and their waste material is removed by catheter. They'll stay locked in their beds, _or whatever_, until their bodies break down and their hearts can no longer handle the loss of blood."

It was sickening, and I found myself trying to come up with an idea on how to put a stop to it. "How is it controlled?" I asked. "Who decides who gets what and how much?"

"Whoa princess, you do not want to get sidetracked on our mission," Edward said quickly.

"I can't just continue with my life knowing that is going on. I can't go in there and only save my brother and look the other way at the rest of the people?"

"Yes, you can. Bella, you can't save everyone. It's impossible. Vampires are just too strong and there are way too many. Mutt and I can defend ourselves long enough to get you and your brother out, but that's the best we can do. Remember what you told me, he's the most important thing."

I nodded, but felt absolutely horrible about it. "Ok, so what's the plan?"

"The vampire world is run by a pair of Romanian brothers – Stephan and Vladimir. The mating colony and the town surrounding it are policed by their guard. Only the leaders and the guard are allowed to indulge in humans regularly, so they are the strongest and no one can challenge them. The leaders live in a secret location and we'll never see them, but their guard will be around and we should try to avoid them to the best of our ability."

"How will we be able to tell which vampires are the guard?"

"They're easily spotted because they're the only ones left with bright red eyes. Everyone else's are black or dark red…_or gold like mine if they're low enough to partake in animal blood consumption_. But regardless of whether or not we cross paths with members of the guard, this is definitely going to be tricky. Lucky for you, I have a few ideas…"

By the time I was dry, we had come up with a plan. I wanted to discuss a Plan B as well, but Edward said that Plan B was him and Jacob getting killed and me being thrown into the mating system, or just fed on by one of the guards. We couldn't afford a Plan B, so Plan A was just going to have to work.

Edward found a chain and wrapped it around Jacob's wolf neck as a makeshift leash, and I needed to stay close to him the entire time so his smell and heartbeat would mask mine. Edward told me to keep my back straight and to be as stiff as possible. At first glance, we needed vampires to believe I was one of them and that Jacob was our 'pet'.

My heart raced as Edward handed me the chain to hold onto.

"Control your emotions," he said to me sternly.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to steady myself, and then nodded.

"Don't speak unless absolutely necessary," he reminded me. "And never let them look into your eyes. They're a dead giveaway."

I nodded again, and then we began walking.

What Edward had called a 'town' looked nothing like any town I had ever read about. He said it used to be Phoenix, but the buildings were mostly destroyed from what he described as mass wars between opposing covens. It looked more like a nuclear bomb hit the place.

We walked a little further, and then we came across our first vampire. It was just sitting in the street, starring off into space as if it were lost in some deep thought. I followed Edward's instruction and didn't let my eyes linger on it. I just kept my head held up high and straight forward. My heart continued to beat at a steady rhythm.

We passed by a few more vampires who acted similar to the first, but the further we got into the town, the more active the vampires seemed to be.

"What is this?" one vampire asked, way more interested in Jacob than any of us would have liked.

"My pet," Edward said strongly. "I captured him in the Sierra Nevada forest."

"Really?" the vampire replied. He then took a step closer to Jacob and reached his hand out to touch him. Of course, Jake didn't want the thing anywhere near him or me, so he snapped at him.

"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you," Edward warned him. "He took off a vampire's arm in Nevada."

"How interesting."

I never made eye contact with the vampire so I had no idea what color his eyes were, but I had to admit, I was glad when he finally left us alone.

We continued to walk and kept crossing paths with various vampires who'd eye us suspiciously, but we weren't stopped again until we reached the center of the city. There was a large gate and chain linked fence with barbed wire at the top. Two vampires stood guard, and there was an obvious difference in the way they held themselves from the other vampires we had come across. These vampires weren't starving.

"What's your business here?" a particularly assertive vampire asked.

"I came to see Jasper," Edward told them assuredly.

"Jasper's been transferred."

"Transferred where?" Edward asked surprised.

"That's classified information."

"Fine," Edward said casually, and then we turned to leave but….

"What is it that you have there?"

"My wolf?" Edward asked innocently. It seemed Jacob was getting more attention than Edward had anticipated. "He's my guard dog. You never know what kind of hostile you'll come up against in a city like this."

"I'm sure Stefan would be interested in it," the vampire said suggestively.

"I'm sure he won't care," the other argued. "He's seen werewolves before and if we bother him for such a thing he'll have our necks."

"Perhaps you're right," he agreed. Then he looked back at Edward. "Go on, you filthy animal sucker, get out of here before we change our minds."

Edward nodded in a sort of salute, and then we turned to leave. I assumed Edward knew more than we did from reading their minds, which was why he didn't try harder to get in, but Jake and I had to just trust him on it; we couldn't stop and ask him questions until we reached obscurity.

We walked silently for almost an hour, but right when we reached the city's edge, we had company.

"You know, if you wanted a closer look at my wolf, you could have just asked," Edward said before the three vampires even had a chance to speak. They weren't the guard members; they just seemed to be curious bystanders that we had passed in the town.

"We want to see how it works," one of the vampires replied.

"Never in my three hundred years have I ever seen anything like it," the second vampire with the darker skin added. "I have seen my fair share of werewolves in Europe, but never one like this; and it's not even a full moon."

"It almost smells human," the lone female vampire in the group said with sinister excitement. I didn't look any of them in the eyes, but I could definitely tell she had flaming red hair which I wished I could get a better look at. No one in my village back home had hair so striking.

"Aren't all werewolves somewhat human?" Edward asked dismissively.

"The heartbeat is strange as well," the first vampire pointed out. "It almost sounds like it has two."

"How long has it been since you've had any blood?" Edward asked with an unconcerned chuckle. "I think you're beginning to get delirious."

"No, I hear it too," the darker vampire agreed with his friend.

"Perhaps you're both losing it," Edward said condescendingly.

"Let us take a closer look," the female challenged.

"I wouldn't. He doesn't particularly like vampires," Edward told her.

"Surely if your mate can control it with that chain, we have nothing to be concerned about." It was clear these vampires weren't going to give up their curiosity about Jacob as easily as the others did before.

Edward watched them carefully for a moment, and then he shrugged. "Suit yourself. But I'm moving my mate out of the way so she doesn't lose a limb in the crossfires. Bella, I'll take it from here," he said to me while taking the chain out of my hands.

I took a step behind him, but suddenly an unexpected wind breezed through my hair, and I knew in that moment I'd be identified.

"Mmm, you brought a snack," the sandy haired vampire said.

Jacob immediately took a defensive position in front of us, but the vampires hardly gave him a second glance. They were starving, and I was a feast.

"Stop!" Edward yelled at them, and then did something baffling. He pulled up the sleeve of his shirt and exposed what looked like a branding on his wrist.

The three vampires backed down right away, and even bowed their heads. "I'm sorry, my lord, we did not recognize you."

"The girl is my personal blood supply, and I will not allow anyone to take her from me. Do you understand?" Edward asked with authority.

"Yes, of course," the vampires said apologetically.

I had no idea what was happening, but if it was possible for it to get even more confusing, it was definitely about to.

Two more vampires came onto the scene, and since my humanity was already revealed, I figured I didn't have to keep my eyes down anymore. I could see that they had bright glowing red eyes and wore dark cloaks. There wasn't a doubt that they were guard, probably the same two who stopped us at the mating colony gate. We were seriously screwed.

"I had a feeling you'd be trouble," one of them said to Edward.

"He's a Cullen," the red headed female said quickly.

"Show us," the guard member demanded. Edward pulled up his sleeve again, and showed them his wrist brand.

The guard moved closer to him, and looked into his eyes skeptically. "A Cullen with gold eyes? I don't believe it."

"I've been traveling," Edward responded. "There hasn't always been humans readily available; I've had to supplement with animal blood."

"He is traveling with a human, sir," the sandy haired vampire informed the guard.

The guard took two steps closer to me, and inhaled sharply. "So he is. Why didn't you inform us of her at the gate?"

"She's mine, and I didn't want to share," Edward told them evenly.

"Why did you bring her to the mating colony at all then?"

"As I told you at the gate, I was looking for Jasper. I have business with him."

"What type of business?" the guard questioned.

"None of yours," Edward replied curtly. "And I doubt Jasper would be too happy about you pressing the subject."

"I apologize, but I'm having a hard time understanding why you have a human in your possession and still haven't drained her, especially if you've only been surviving on animal blood. You could always get a new human to take with you as your personal blood supply."

"Are you still questioning me?" Edward asked him. "Last time I checked, a Cullen outranks a guard member."

"Yeah well, recently those brands have been showing up on a lot more than just Cullens. Vamps are finding ways to fake them just to get more blood for themselves."

Edward smirked. "So you risk calling a Cullen a fake? That's a dangerous accusation."

"What gift do you have?" the guard asked, abruptly becoming nervous. "Cullens are chosen for their gifts, so prove to us you are who you say you are."

"I can read minds…. Your creator's name was Alistair, and you were secretly in love with him."

The guard shook his head slowly, and the other misinterpreted his motion as a denial of Edward's claim. They both growled at him. "Get the girl. This colony could use more healthy ripe females."

"She's my singer," Edward said quickly, making them pull back. "You want the truth? I was taking her to Jasper so he could give me a needle kit. I know if I taste her blood I won't be able to stop until she's dead, and I don't want to drink her all in one sitting. But…if you still don't believe me, then I'd rather drink her now then not at all."

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me against him forcefully, then he brought his lips to the skin on my neck, and latched on before beginning to suck….

* * *

*****A/N: AHHHH!  
Confused? All will be cleared up in the next chapter.**


	6. Cooling Off

Chapter 6 – Cooling Off

Everything was black.

I tried to remember how I got to that place where the darkness was consuming, but I just couldn't recall a single memory. Not of my past, certainly not of my present; there wasn't a single image that I could draw from to clue me in to how I got locked inside the nothingness. My body was numb, but ever so slowly a dull tingling began spreading warmth throughout me. It started at my toes and fingers, and moved inward towards my center. I could feel my heart again, and I was strangely proud of the way it beat at a normal steady pace, though I wasn't sure why or even what that meant.

And then I had a thought, not really a memory, but something else – more like an emotional need. I needed something. _Was searching for something?_ I had to find a way out of the darkness so I could succeed; in what, I still wasn't sure. But as the tingling continued to move and finally reached my head, my thoughts began coming back to me quicker.

Yes, I was searching, but not for something, it was _someone_. Searching for the most important person in the world to me.

I had to find Emmett.

I forced my eyes open, and I sat straight up.

"Wha…" My voice was horse, so I cleared it to the best of my ability and then tried to finish my thought. "What happened?"

"Relax, everything is fine," Jacob said to me softly while handing me the satchel of water to drink from.

"Huh? Where are we?" I asked while looking around at what appeared to be some sort of rocky cavern.

"We're safe…_for now_," Jacob said, sounding slightly bitter.

But then it came to me. Phoenix. The vampire guards, and… "Did Edward bite me?" I asked while shooting my hand to my neck. My skin was smooth, and yet, there was something there, some phantom feeling as if his lips were still attached.

"No, but that bastard definitely scared the shit out of me."

"What…I don't understand. Jacob, what happened, and where are we…and where's Edward…and why the hell is it so hot in here?" I asked while wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"We're still in Arizona…_I think_, and its summer so that's why its so hot. We're in some cave for the night because Edward said it was the best place to rest inconspicuously. He's outside somewhere; I've given up on babysitting him."

"Ok," I said while still trying to shake the fog out of my brain. "What happened with the vampires?"

"Well, Edward made it look like he was draining you, and I think you fainted, which was weird. Since when can you faint on demand?"

"I didn't know that I could," I said absently.

"Huh…Well, anyway, it actually worked to our advantage because you fell limp and I really thought that fucking leach killed you, and apparently so did the other vamps. They wanted to dispose of your body but then Edward told them that you were fresh meat for me - _you know, since I was supposed to be his pet wolf_ - so they let us go. I realized he was just faking his bite, so I finally went with it and we walked right out of there with you slumped over my back."

"O-kay…" I didn't really know how to respond to that. "What about Emmett?"

"He wasn't there," Edward said as he walked into the cave. "I saw in the guard's mind that my old friend Jasper had taken a group of humans somewhere. Emmett was with them."

"How do you know it was him? You've never seen Emmett before," I questioned.

"I know what he looks like from seeing him in Puppy Love's mind," Edward rebutted. "He looks like you…just bigger…and more…masculine."

"So, where did they take him?" I asked anxiously. "Did you hear the location in the guard's mind too?"

"Florida," he said unexpectedly. "Feel like going to Disney World?"

"Where?" I asked confused.

"Disney World, it's a… Never mind, I guess that was a little before your time."

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I certainly didn't care enough to ask either. "So, do you have any idea what they're doing with him there?" I asked.

"I'm not exactly sure what's in Florida, I've never actually been there personally."

"Great," I said frustrated.

"But I know the general direction to head in, and we'll just have to ask vamps what they know as we go. Don't worry, I'll find him."

"But what if no one will tell you anything?" I asked, feeling my hopelessness begin to seep back in.

"Bella, control your emotions, remember?" Edward chided me. "You did an excellent job keeping calm with the guards, and the fainting thing was genius, by the way, but you need to keep it up. I read minds, I'll get the information we need one way or the other."

And that reminded me. "So, what's a Cullen anyway?" I asked, finally able to voice the confusion I had when he was speaking to the guards. He was so assertive, so he either was something more than what he was telling us, or he was just a really good liar. I wasn't sure which possibility would be worse.

"Cullens are a special vampire subdivision. They are chosen for their special abilities and used mainly to protect the leaders."

"So, your ability to read minds is why you were chosen to be part of this group?" I asked, just trying to understand.

"Partially."

"But you said you didn't have a coven," Jacob said suspiciously.

"I don't. Look, the vamp leaders force every vampire with extra abilities into the group. We are all branded and put to work for them, but that doesn't mean everyone is all happy about it. A few of us have left the division."

"So you're a deserter?" Jacob asked incredulously. "Great, now we're working with a fugitive; that just made this mission doubly impossible."

"No one is after me," Edward tried assuring us. "I don't have an aggressive offensive gift, so I'm not a threat to the leaders. Besides vampires are immortal, someone going MIA for a few decades isn't that big of a deal. I'm sure no one has even noticed that I'm gone."

"But they sure will when we attack whoever has Emmett," Jacob argued.

"I doubt it will come to an attack. I have no idea where they're taking him, so if we can't sneak him away then I'm sure nothing will work. Storming anything of any kind is out at this point."

"Does that mean our deal is over too?" I asked. "I mean, you wanted to storm the colony, right? You thought it would be fun. So what now? Why are you still here helping us?"

He shrugged. "What else is there to do? Like I said before, the world now is boring; this is still the most fun I've had in years. I'll stick with you until we figure out what's going on with your brother."

"And then we fight to the death," Jacob reiterated.

"Of course," Edward agreed.

"So, to Florida?" I asked, feeling hopeless and hopeful at the same time.

"To Florida," Edward and Jacob both replied.

"Ok, lets go," I said while standing up.

"Whoa, wait, it's still nighttime, and I'm pooped," Jacob told me.

"Oh, well I guess I had my turn sleeping, why don't you lay down for a bit and we'll leave first thing in the morning."

"Kay, thanks," he said before lying down.

"Well, I'm going to go wait for the sun to rise _outside_ the cave," Edward told me. "There is no way I can stand his stench in such an enclosed space for that long."

I decided to stay inside since we really weren't worried about watching Edward all the time anymore. We didn't trust him, but we were confident that he wasn't going to run away on us, and that was the only reason we'd watch him all night anyway.

But after listening to Jacob fart in his sleep for the third time, I couldn't stay in there a moment longer. His farts were bad enough under any circumstance, but in such a hot and stuffy small space it was excruciating.

So I ventured out of the cave, only to realize just how much hotter it was outside.

Edward was lying across a rock formation a few yards away, just staring up at the sky, so I decided to go sit with him…It was better than sitting alone, right?

"What are you looking at?" I asked him as I looked up to try to see what he was seeing.

"The stars," he replied without looking back at me.

"You tend to do that a lot, don't you?" I asked amused, wondering what someone like him saw in such a trivial thing.

"When I was a child, my mother used to say that stars were people from heaven looking down on Earth to say hello," he said softly, taking me aback. "And I really have no idea why the hell I just told you that."

"Your mom? Your human mom?"

"When someone becomes a vampire, most of their human memories are lost in the endless capacity of the vampire's mind. But if something was very important to them, if they dig down deep enough, if they can recover even _one_ memory…then others can follow. In my first few years of this life I used to look up at the sky for days at a time, and wasn't really sure why. It was a need I had, something buried so deep that I couldn't possibly understand, until one day…I remembered. My mother was very important to me as a human. Even when I grew up and learned what stars really were, I still believed what she told me about people using them from heaven, and I honestly thought my grandparents were up there… And now, well I'm sure she's up there too, and every once in a while I wonder what she thinks of what I've become. But I'll never know, because I'll never be there with her."

I had definitely grown up with vastly different beliefs, but I decided voicing them was a waste of time at that point.

"What was the world like back then?" I asked him, trying to ignore the horribly hot temperature of the evening. It was difficult, but the more he spoke, the more I was able to think around the heat. How the hell was it so hot when the sun wasn't even up? The only part of me that wasn't hot, was the side of my neck. For whatever reason, the place where he had pressed his mouth to my skin left a cool tingling chill every time I thought about it. It was like his lips were haunting me, and even now as I tried to listen to him speak, I couldn't help but get lost in the way his lips moved; I couldn't stop wondering what they looked like attached to my neck.

But I was sincerely interested in the world before vampires were prevalent, so I tried like hell to focus.

He told me what he knew of the world during his human life in nineteen eighteen, and how amazing the human cities were. I was absolutely fascinated by how different it was from the world I knew…except the heat was beginning to make me woozy.

"You should really get yourself a drink," Edward said when he noticed how uncomfortable I had become.

"I did, but it's just so…hot," I told him, and once again I felt the coolness of his phantom lips at my neck.

If I wasn't so desperate, it would have never happened. If I wasn't beginning to go delirious, I would have put a stop to it, but the next thing I knew I was reaching my hand out to his skin.

"What are you doing?" he asked disturbed when he noticed my outstretched hand.

"I'm just so…hot," I told him again before closing the distance between us. Without warning, I grabbed ahold of his arm as if my life depended on it. It was like my body had completely taken over and gone into autopilot. The heat was killing me, and I needed the coolness that only his skin could give me, whether my brain agreed with the action or not.

He had lightning fast reflexes, he could have easily moved out of the way before I could get anywhere close to him, but he didn't. Instead he froze - just as I needed him to. And the temperature of his skin was heaven.

I unconsciously began rubbing my palm up and down his marble smooth arm, which strangely caused a subtle rumble from deep inside his body…but I didn't stop.

"I could kill you right now," he said through gritted teeth without moving any other part of his body.

I couldn't bring myself to care about his words. Instead I found myself pressing my flaming cheek onto his shoulder, and when I wasn't satisfied by the low amount of coolness reaching me through his shirt, my face somehow ended up on the skin below his jaw.

"Seriously, I really want to drain you," Edward warned me emotionlessly. But honestly, I would have rather he kill me right then, then to back away. He was an oasis, and I was burning without him.

"I'd end you quickly. You wouldn't even feel it," he told me.

"What fun would that be?" I heard myself challenging him as if I had a death wish. He may have been serious with his threats, but I honestly wasn't scared. If he didn't kill me when his mouth was pressed to my neck, then why would he kill me now?

I was definitely pushing my luck, but I moved even closer so that I was completely lying on top of him like he was my own personal cooling device. He protested a few more times, but I ignored him and ended up drifting off to sleep feeling more comfortable than I had since first leaving home.


	7. Blinding

A/N: So sorry for the long wait, but because my inspiration TV show "Revolution" has been off air for winter break, I've had trouble finding the proper motivation to write this story. I'll try not to let it happen again :)

* * *

Chapter 7 – Blinding

When I woke up the next morning to the sweltering heat of the summer sun, I couldn't help the disorienting wave of disappointment I felt. I was still lying on something cool and hard, unfortunately it was a large boulder instead of the vampire that I had fallen asleep on the night before.

I sat up and looked around to try to figure out where exactly I was.

"We're still in Arizona," Jacob said as he walked over to me in his human form.

"Oh…I know," I said, unsure why he'd think I had forgotten.

"You just look a little confused," he told me slowly.

"No, I'm not confused, it's just…" I let my sentence trail off. There was no way I was going to tell him that I had fallen asleep on the vampire and was disappointed that he wasn't there when I woke up; he'd never allow himself to be unconscious on our trip again. "Where is Edward?" I asked, deciding that was a better and more important topic.

Jake shrugged. "I don't know. When I woke up in the cave this morning, I came out here and found you alone sleeping on the rock. But his scent leads that way," he said while pointing towards the north.

"Oh…" I said while standing up. "Should we track him?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm sure he'll be back. I mean, he's had every opportunity to ditch us thus far and he hasn't, so why would he now?"

"I guess," I said absently. _Unless, that is, I freaked the hell out of him by lying on him the way I did._

"Well, what do you say we try to find something to eat," Jake suggested.

"What are we going to eat in the desert?" I asked hopelessly. "Give me the forest and a bow and we'll never go hungry, but I have no idea how to survive in a place like this."

"We have water, and that's what's most important. Maybe we should just continue east and hope we come across something," he suggested.

"What about Edward?"

"I'm sure he won't have a problem finding us."

I nodded and then we began walking again. "How long do you think it'll take to get to Florida?" I asked wearily.

He sighed. "You were always better at geography than I was. All I really know is that it's to the east and it's a hell of a long ways away."

We walked silently for a few hours before we both needed a break from the terrible heat of day. "Remind me why we decided traveling during the day was better than at night?" I asked as we pulled out our water satchels and probably drank more than we should.

"Edward said there's less vamp traffic during the day," Jake replied, sounding even more exhausted than I felt.

"Why would that be?" I asked confused.

"I don't know, something about old habits dying hard. He said vamps were so used to sticking to the shadows to hide from people that many still do out of habit. Plus their senses are even better in the dark."

"I get all that, but…" I took a deep breath. "This is excruciating."

"You're telling me? My body temp is 108 in Washington weather; I can only imagine what it is here."

I smiled sympathetically. "Sorry," I told him, well aware of the fact that he was only suffering through it for me. "Maybe we should risk it and travel at night regardless of the vampires. I mean, we're never going to get there like this."

"We just need to make sure that we stay hydrated," he disagreed. "Everything about this trip is dangerous; we don't need to take extra risks by traveling at night. Besides, we need to sleep, and we both know that sleeping in the hot sun is next to impossible. Let's just power through it and then rest as much as possible at night."

"Ok, well my water is already getting low so we'll need to refill our satchels as soon as we find a lake or something."

"Yeah, mine is too. We'll just have to keep our eyes out."

We walked a little ways longer when suddenly we saw a blinding light, brighter than anything I had ever seen before. I had no idea what could be making the glare so I raised my hand to try to shield my eyes, and was absolutely flabbergasted to see Edward's form appear in the center of it.

Nothing about Edward had ever really seemed earthly, not even when I thought he was human back when we met at the wall, but the way he looked at that moment was beyond words. His beauty was unparalleled, and just like the light he was reflecting, everything else was dull in comparison.

"Whoa leprechaun, what's with the light show?" Jacob asked.

"Leprechaun?" Edward asked confused.

"The rainbows you're shooting off," Jake explained. "What gives?"

"I'm a vampire - it's what we do in the sun," Edward stated evenly.

"We've seen you in the sun before, and you've never given off beams like those," Jake argued.

"It's the desert midday heat. Not only is it the brightest place in the country, but the mirages from the heat and sand makes the reflections amplified," Edward explained. "Just one more reason why vamps don't do too much traveling during the day around here; it's annoying to us too."

"No doubt," Jake agreed. "Hey, do I smell meat?"

Edward tossed him two dead rabbits, which surprised me, I would have thought that would have been the first thing Jake noticed.

"Sorry, I couldn't find anything bigger," Edward told us.

"This is better than nothing, thanks," Jake said graciously. "You're like our own personal meat supplier."

"Well, I have to keep my pets fed, don't I," Edward said with a cocky smirk.

Jake immediately began skinning the animals, but the strong metallic smell of blood escaped into the air as Jake's hands were completely covered in red. "Uh…you forgot to drain them first."

"Pfft," Edward huffed. "I'd never drink a ridiculous bunny."

"Oh… I thought you said you couldn't find anything else?" Jake asked him confused.

"Unlike you mortals, I don't need to feed every day."

"Is this blood going to attract any vamps?" I asked concerned.

"There aren't any close enough to smell it," Edward replied evenly. "Not that they'd care about animal blood anyway."

"If you weren't hunting for yourself, where have you been?" Jake asked suspiciously, unable to move past the subject.

"Last time I checked, I didn't have to answer to you or anyone else," Edward snapped, suddenly becoming very serious and almost angry in a way that I hadn't seen from him before. Even Jacob was surprised by his sudden mood change.

"Fine, I don't care where you were anyway," Jake mumbled quietly before going back to preparing the rabbits.

I stared at Edward for a moment, unsure what I was looking for, and then I blinked and he disappeared. I was about to ask Jake if he saw where he went when I felt the coolness of his body radiating from behind me.

He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into him so that my back was flushed against his stone chest.

"If you ever pull another stunt like you did last night, I will kill you," he warned so quietly that Jake's super hearing couldn't even detect it. His tone was absolutely menacing and if I was smart I probably would have been terrified, but as his icy cold breath washed down my neck all I could think of was how good it felt. He let me go then flashed several yards away and posted himself on a rock like some illuminated statue. He was absolutely mesmerizing.

It was hard to tear my eyes away from Edward, but I forced myself to pay attention to Jacob's cooking, because the sooner we ate, the sooner we could get moving again.

"Gah, it's so hot," I said, backing away from the small fire but still not finding any relief.

"Again, I have it worse than you," Jake said while poking at the meat with a stick.

"Maybe we should just learn to eat it raw," I whined, honestly beginning to feel lightheaded. I absently pulled a string from the hem of my shirt and then used it to tie my hair away from my neck in the hopes that it would help cool me off, but before I had a chance to even secure it Jacob jumped up.

"What the hell?" he asked as he examined the side of my throat.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Holy shit," he said in quiet disbelief before turning to look in Edward's direction with pure, unadulterated rage.

"Jacob what is it?" I asked in a panic.

The next thing I knew Edward was standing in front of him with a sinister smirk on his face. "And what are you going to do about it, pup?"

"I'm going to fucking kill you," Jake seethed.

Edward took two deliberate steps closer to him so that they were only a couple of feet apart. "Try it," he challenged him.

As angry as Jacob was, Edward's angelic face had distorted in a way that made him look so demonic that even the bravest of men would back down.

"Just tell me what you did to her," Jake asked, trying to maintain his intimidating stance but failing miserably.

"What do you think I did to her?" Edward replied darkly.

Jacob shook his head in denial. "No, she would be a filthy bloodsucker if you bit her."

"Bit me?" I asked, immediately bringing my hand to the phantom cool spot on my neck where his lips were once attached.

"You have a crescent shaped mark, and your skin is all black and blue around it," Jake explained to me without taking his accusatory eyes off of Edward.

I looked at Edward questionably, and even though he didn't seem to be in the sharing type of mood he did turn his frosty stare to me – "I told you not to mess with me," he said sadistically before walking off.

"Wait, where are you going?" I called after him.

"Just let him go, Bella," Jake said quickly. "I don't know what the hell he did to you, but it's obvious he can't be trusted."

"So we're just supposed to just let him go and trust him to not go back to our home and feed on the people there?" I asked sarcastically.

"Oh shit," Jake said as he realized my point. "Well, I'm sure Sam is still on high alert protection mode, but you're right, we can't take any chances; it's time to end him once and for all." He turned to me and took both of my hands in his. "Bella, if I don't survive this, I want you to know that I always loved you…and you are definitely worth dying for."

"Okay, enough with the theatrics," I said annoyed as I pulled my hands out of his grip. "First of all, I already told you that I don't feel that way for you, and second, you're not going to die right now, cuz you aren't going to fight him…at least not yet. He didn't bite me."

"How do you know? Bella, you can't see the mark."

I rubbed the spot with me hand and chose to keep the part about it feeling cool to myself. "It's probably just from the way he was _pretending_ to bite me. He had to make it believable. If he really bit me then I'd be a vampire by now."

"Well maybe he sucked the venom back out and sealed the wound."

"I doubt a vampire would be able to stop feeding to do something like that, especially one that hasn't had human blood in a long time. Besides, did you see his eyes? They're still gold. If he drank my blood they'd be red now."

"Oh…I didn't think about that," Jake conceded. "So what then, you think it's just like…a really big hickey?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, I guess. But frankly, I don't care. Nothing has changed. We still need him."

Jake huffed. "I know…but if he so much as looks at your neck wrong, this arrangement is off."

"Look, I appreciate the fact that you're risking your life for me, but like I told you before, we are never going to be a couple so…."

"We don't have to keep having this conversation," he interrupted me. "I heard you the first five times."

"But you just said…"

"I thought I was about to go challenge him. Regardless of how confident I am, the vamp is seriously going to be one hell of a fight. I just wanted my possible last words to be…I don't know…positive. Maybe even a little heroic," he admitted.

I giggled despite myself. "Well, I'm no damsel in distress. I'm human and incapable of protecting myself against vampires, but other than that I can take care of myself," I joked.

"Yeah, okay," he snickered. "But you should really consider me a while longer before making your final decision on our future. Who knows, you may end up falling in love with me on this trip after all."

"Don't count on it."

"We could make some pretty awesome offspring. Just think, you could be the mother of future wolf warriors."

I rolled my eyes at him again. "Every woman's dream come true…to have puppies instead of babies."

"Hey," he said offended.

"Oh, you know I'm kidding," I said with a laugh while nudging him with my elbow.

"I don't think you are kidding. You've been hanging out with that leech too much while I sleep. His terrible views on life are rubbing off." He stepped closer to me and took an unexpected whiff. "You even have his scent on you. What the hell were you doing last night? Hugging him?"

"No," I said a little too quickly. "It's just probably from when I rode on his back the other day," I told him as I brought my wrist up to my nose to try to see if I could smell Edward's scent as well. Unfortunately, my weak human nose didn't smell anything except my own sweat. "God, I really need a bath."

"I doubt we'll find any water around here," Jake replied wearily. "I really don't like this place," he added while looking around at the emptiness that surrounded us. "It's so… I don't know, eerie. Too open. I don't feel secure without the forest."

"Me either," I agreed.

We ate our rabbit meal and then threw sand on our fire before continuing on our way. Despite our little tiff with Edward, I didn't have a doubt that he'd show back up eventually. For whatever reason, I trusted him, and I truly believed he'd see us through until the end of our mission.

When the sun lowered in the sky above us, Jake and I searched out some kind of shelter for the night. If vampires really were more active in the dark then we'd need to be as obscure as possible. Luckily we were passing a fairly desolate area and I doubted any vampire would have a reason to be there, so as long as there wasn't a strong wind, we had a good chance at being ok.

We crawled into a shallow ravine and couldn't do anything but hope we'd make it until morning. Once again, Jake and I took turns sleeping. I told him to go first, and I pretty much just sat there trying to think of anything other than how badly I wished Edward was there so I could find some relief from the heat again.

But then, expectedly unexpected, Edward was back…just sitting next to me as if he had been there the whole time. He didn't say anything; he just sat with his legs crossed and his head leaning back against the rock behind him. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he was sleeping.

Very slowly, I inched towards him. His threats echoed in my mind as my conscience screamed at me to stop, but I dismissed it. He didn't open his eyes as my arm wove into his, and he didn't even flinch when I rested my head on his shoulder. I really didn't understand him one bit, but I didn't care to either. I was just grateful for the break from the heat, and I wasn't about to question him on it.

Just like the day before, I woke up in the morning with Jake still snoring nearby and Edward nowhere to be found. I never thought I was a light sleeper, but somehow he managed to disappear from my grasp while I slept anyway.

He was a strange and fascinating creature.

When Jake woke, we set out again and Edward rejoined us sometime around midday. None of us commented on his disappearing and reappearing antics, it just became the norm as it continued that way for the next several days. Edward would usually return with a dead animal of some sort, occasionally it would be drained of blood, but usually not. And if our water satchels ran dry, somehow Edward would have them refilled by morning.

None of us spoke much, we just didn't have the energy to, and I would spend most of the day anxiously awaiting the sun to go down so that I could rest while lying against Edward's cool form. He didn't threaten me anymore, though every once in a while he'd give off a low warning growl from deep inside his chest if I got too overzealous with my contact. I wasn't allowed to completely lie on top of him again, but his arm and shoulder was tolerated and I was grateful; I'd take as much of his coolness he was willing to give.

Approximately a week of excruciatingly uncomfortable trekking later, we finally seemed to be getting somewhere. We came across an old sign that read Austin Texas which came accompanied with the remains of another human city long turned to rubble.

"Are there vampires here?" I asked cautiously.

"Most likely," Edward replied emotionlessly. "We should resume our previous roles from Phoenix," he suggested.

Jake huffed and then began undressing as Edward looked around for another chain.

"But, I stink," I said concerned. "And it didn't work last time, so why would it work now?"

"You're not going to pretend to be a vampire again; I meant that you need to go back to being my personal blood bank."

"Oh."

"Your eyes aren't red," Jake argued. "How the hell is that going to work?"

"I won't make eye contact with anyone," he said unfazed. Without warning he suddenly reached up and ripped the string out of my hair so it would fall around my face again. It was so hot and dirty that I almost vomited as I got a whiff, but I held it in and forced myself to ignore it.

Edward pulled up his sleeves to expose his Cullen brand on his wrist, at the same time he set his face into a cold hard mask of authority. When Jake phased into a wolf, Edward wrapped the new chain he found around his neck and then looped it around my wrist as well.

"Ready?" he asked us.

Jake and I both nodded so we began our walk into the city. There was no mating colony nearby so we weren't expecting as many vamps as in Phoenix, but a city was a good place for them to hang out and socialize with each other so we needed to stay on full alert. As we walked further down the old broken roads though, we encountered something we were never expecting….


	8. Human

Chapter 8 – Human

"Uh…" I said, not sure if I believed what I was seeing.

"We are definitely in trouble," Edward mumbled, almost incoherently.

"What's going on here?" I whispered, utterly and completely flabbergasted by the sight before me.

"They're…people," Edward murmured back.

"Yeah, I can see that," I replied in a 'duh' tone. "What are they all doing here?" I asked, fearful for their safety.

As we continued to walk slowly down the street, more and more faces peeked out from behind the ruins and then would rush back into hiding. They were all human - curious and terrified by the vampire with his wolf and human pets.

"What are they thinking?" I asked Edward curiously.

He shook his head. "There are so many…I'm not used to hearing so many minds at once the way I used to be." He listened for a few moments, all the while we continued to walk as more and more faces appeared and disappeared to either side of us. "Mostly they're just wary of us…they don't see too many strangers around here."

"Well, how did they get here? And how have they remained safely hidden from vampires?" I asked.

Edward laughed once. "I can only hear what people are thinking at the moment. There's no way for me to know all the answers unless we ask someone and get them to think about it. Right now, they're all just nervous to have us here."

"Here, take this chain off me and let me go try to talk to someone," I suggested.

Edward unwrapped the chain from my wrist, but did it a little slower than I was expecting. "Don't get your hopes up. These people aren't trusting enough to tell you much."

"Well, we have to try. Jake, phase into human so they feel a little more comfortable."

Edward chuckled again. "Aww, are you shy now, pup?" he asked, letting his lighter, cocky side come back out. As annoying as that tone was, I was grateful he wasn't still in the _wannabe terrifying threatening vampire_ mode; it was really starting to get old so the change was a welcomed relief.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"He doesn't know where to dress because there are so many people hiding everywhere," Edward explained.

I rolled my eyes. "Just go try to find a place."

Edward pulled the chain off of Jacob's neck to free him. "I'd go in that direction if I were you," he suggested. Jake Wolf nodded and took his advice.

I decided that was a good time to try to ask some questions.

"Excuse me?" I asked the youngish woman I saw hiding behind the remnants of an automobile.

She looked scared that I was speaking to her, but she didn't run. She looked at Edward who was keeping a safe distance away from us, and then looked back at me. "Y-yes, ma-ma'am?"

"Um…hi," I said, not really knowing how else to begin the conversation. "I'm Bella, who are you?" I asked with an outstretched hand.

She shakily stood and walked four steps out from behind the car, before taking my hand…and kissing it.

"Uh…." I was shocked. I had no idea what to think about her behavior or what I should do next.

"Bella, let's go," Edward said anxiously. "We need to keep moving…Now!"

I wanted to argue with him, but the eagerness in his tone convinced me otherwise. Obviously he heard something in the girl's mind that alarmed him, so I decided to listen and hurry back to him.

"What's going on?" I asked quietly as we began walking at a brisk pace out of the city.

"I'll tell you when we get out," he said before grabbing my hand and tugging me forward even quicker.

"What about Jake?" I asked.

"I'm sure he'll be along in a minute…Shit!" Edward practically yelled while pulling me to a stop.

"What?"

"They caught him."

"What?" I asked again in a panic.

Without warning, Edward wrapped his arm around my torso and whisked me down an alleyway between two buildings. I was about to question him, but he covered my mouth with his hand and whispered to be quiet.

If I wasn't so confused I probably would have been going insane by how sweet his skin smelled and how badly I wanted to lick his hand, but then again, that would have probably just pissed him off and ended up freaking me out as well. _What the hell was wrong with me anyway? _

Suddenly a group of men walked past us holding torches, and what looked like wooden stakes and burning crosses. It was somewhat disorienting. What the hell was going on?

"They think they're vampire hunters," Edward whispered after the men passed and were out of hearing range.

"Are you serious?" I asked incredulously. "Wha…how…How have they survived here this long. Surely a group of vampires can come in and take control of them?"

"They have an arrangement with the local vampires," he said unexpectedly.

"What kind of arrangement?"

"The kind that involves human sacrifices in exchange for sanctuary. From what I've gathered, there is a coven that comes here every night and takes one human of the people's choosing, and in turn keeps their presence here hidden from the vampire hierarchy and other covens. The humans are able to maintain a lifestyle which they would never be able to have without the coven's protection, and the coven gets to feed regularly. It's actually a really clever system."

"Clever?" I asked incredulously. "It's sick."

"It's symbiosis," he argued.

"Symbiosis is supposed to be two species living together for mutual gain," I retorted.

"Exactly."

"It's not mutual gain if they're sacrificing their neighbor's lives," I said bitterly. "I can't believe these people are okay with this…or that they've been able to keep it going without any other vamps finding out about it."

"Others have found out…but the coven is pretty strong and has been able to fight off anyone that threatens their little secret here."

"But, I don't get it…Why are they trying to hunt us if they have an arrangement with vampires?" I asked confused. "With sticks and crosses, none the less."

"The arrangement only pertains to that coven. We're fair game." He shot up his hand to warn me of someone coming and we both quieted. When the coast was clear again, he continued. "The sticks are because the vampires have these people convinced that the ancient folklore is true."

"What folklore?"

"The one that says vampires burn in the sun and are repulsed by garlic and crosses. They think we can be killed by wooden stakes," he explained with a chuckle.

"Why would the vampires want to give them false hope that they stand a chance?" I asked confused.

He shrugged. "My guess is that they're a bit sadistic and enjoy the power. Things can get boring, and if we're never challenged then eternity gets mundane. Perhaps they're hoping the people will try to rise up. It'll give them something interesting to do without actually risking their own lives, plus they'll get the excuse to break their arrangement and drink more than one a night. _When adrenaline is flowing, blood is that much sweeter_," he said wistfully. "Once they get them back under control, I'm sure they'll return to their one a night deal."

Edward spoke about the entire thing with astonishment, as if he was incredibly impressed by the system these vampires had created. I just found it disgusting. But more importantly, I was starting to become really worried about my best friend.

"We need to find Jacob."

"We can't…not right now. The sun is getting lower in the sky and that coven will be here soon. We definitely don't want to cross paths with them."

"But you said they captured him. Who captured him and what does that mean?" I asked concerned.

"The townspeople captured him because they could. They got him while he was trying to find a place to phase. I'm sure he could have gotten away from them but he cares far too much about human life to possibly kill any of them while doing so."

"Did you know they were planning to capture him? Is that why you told him to go off to phase?" I fumed.

"No. I didn't know that was their plan, but I heard the commotion and Jacob's thoughts as we went. Look, I'm sure he's going to be fine. They probably just want to eat him or something."

"Eat him?" I asked horrified.

"Bella, think about it. These people are probably hungry and Jacob is the biggest animal they've ever seen. They don't know what he is, so why not butcher him for meat."

"Edward, we have to save him," I said in a panic.

"He's going to be fine," Edward said dismissively. "The guy is capable of killing vampires, do you really think a few humans with pitchforks are a threat to him?"

"Pitchforks?"

"I'm sure they can't even pierce his skin. The only way he's going to get hurt is if they let the coven know he's there…Which they won't."

"How do you know?"

"Why would they? They think he's their next meal, and why would vamps care about a large dog anyway? Most of my species doesn't even know shape-shifters exist; they'd probably just think the same thing the people do, an overgrown dog. Hopefully he'll stay in his wolf form until morning and then break away from them and come find us."

"Ok…so, why do they only take one human a night?" I asked, just trying to fully understand everything and get my mind off the possibility that Jacob could be currently on a roasting spit.

"Vampires don't need to feed every night, especially after draining an entire human; they must take turns consuming the sacrifices. It's actually very interesting."

"Won't the vampires smell us?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Possibly. But somehow I doubt they even come this far into the city. That is, unless the people tell them that we've been here, but I find that unlikely as well."

"Why?"

"You saw the way that girl reacted to you? She thought you were some kind of witch or something."

"A witch?"

"You told a vampire to let you go, and it did. Then that vampire stood back while you spoke freely without fear. How could you control a vampire in that way and not be a witch?" he said amused.

"Is that why she kissed my hand?"

"She certainly didn't want to get on your bad side," he said with a laugh.

"Then why'd we have to run? I should just go back there and demand they give Jacob back or else I'll put a spell on them."

"Just because she was afraid of you, doesn't mean the others in this city are. Those men…the ones with the torches, they've been planning to take out the vampires one at a time."

"They're just going to get themselves killed," I said, worried for the misguided men.

"From what I heard in their minds, they've been planning an attack on the controlling vampire coven for some time now, and we just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They have no idea whether I'm with them or not, but they don't care either. They just want to kill vampires."

"Maybe we weren't in the wrong place and the wrong time at all, maybe fate sent us here."

"Huh?" he asked confused and possibly a little annoyed.

"We can't let them attack the vampires. They'll get themselves killed and ruin the arrangement they have with them."

"Didn't you just complain about how wrong that arrangement is?" he asked confused.

"Yes, it is wrong, but attacking them blindly like that isn't the way."

"Then what is the way?" he asked, suddenly becoming wary of where our conversation was heading.

"We need to help them. I don't know, train them or something. Convince them to wait for back up. Maybe we can go back to Washington and get more wolves. Or…"

"Bella, hold on. This isn't our fight, so why get involved?"

"My community thought we were the only surviving group of humans left. If they knew there were others they'd fight to bring us all together. People belong together, at the very least we need to stand up for one another, otherwise we've lost our humanity and what's the point?"

"What about your brother?"

"What about him?" I asked.

"For all we know, he could be next in line to be a leader's lunch. We should be getting to him as soon as possible, not heading back to Washington to rally the troops for some revolution."

I swallowed hard and realized that he was right…but I was right too. "Fine. We bring Emmett home and then we'll come back here to help these people."

"We?" he asked incredulously. "I didn't sign on for some big battle of humans verses vampires. And in that situation, why the hell would I ever be on _your_ side?"

I stared at him for a long moment, and then took a deep breath. "Remember when you were telling me about the way things were before? When humans still thought vampires were a myth and no one lived in fear?"

"I'm a vampire. I don't forget things, especially not things that happened recently," he said arrogantly.

"You spoke about that time with such…_excitement_. What if the world could be like that again?" I asked eagerly.

"Freeing one city from one measly vampire coven isn't going to change the world," he said slowly, trying to make me see reason.

"Maybe not," I agreed. "Maybe everyone will end up dead and it will have all been for nothing. But just maybe this can be the start of something, something bigger."

"What?" he asked skeptically.

"I don't know exactly…and maybe I don't need to know just yet, maybe we'll have to let it play out to see. But I just feel like this is the start of returning to a better way of life."

"Even if we somehow manage to kill this coven, others will come and if it becomes too big of an issue the leaders will get involved. Bella, this won't end well for anyone. We need to just stay low until morning and then get Jacob and be on our way. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do here."

"I'm not going to leave until I talk to someone about this. They need to understand that they can't attack the coven, at least not now, not without help," I said determinedly.

Edward sighed. "At least wait until morning."

I nodded in agreement.

I slept that night the same way I had been sleeping for the past several days, leaning against Edward's cool arm, but for the first time, I woke up the same exact way. Edward didn't leave me in the night, for which I was grateful. Being alone in the wide open wilderness with a shape-shifter nearby was one thing, but being alone in that hostile city full of crazy humans was completely different. I'd never admit it to Edward, but I was more nervous to talk to those people than I ever was with him.

"So, we just go back to where Jake was taken?" I asked Edward as we emerged from our hiding space the next morning.

"Yeah, but stay close to me, okay?"

"Why, are you afraid of those vamp hunters?" I asked with a giggle. "I thought you said they have no idea what they're doing?"

"They don't, and no, I'm not worried about them, I'm worried about you. These people…they're not like the people from your town, they have strange ways of doing things."

"We'll be fine. You were only caught by my people because we had shape shifters to help us, they don't have a chance against you," I tried to reassure him.

"I find it odd that you think these people are nothing to worry about, and yet you want to rally them up for war."

"I think with the proper training and the added shape shifter help they'll be able to take the town back for themselves, yes."

"And then they'll be sitting ducks, waiting for the next bout of vampires to come in for the slaughter. There is no point to this," he reiterated.

"You said they're planning to attack anyway, at least with our help they stand the smallest chance," I tried convincing him. "I'm going to attempt to talk them out of it altogether, but we both know they're not going to listen so I'm going to offer our help. Make them understand the truth about vampires. Beg them to wait until I get my brother and return with more wolves."

Edward shook his head. "It's not going to work, and I have a feeling I'm going to get my ass burned as I try to rescue you and the mutt from those heathens."

"Heathens? Says the sadistic murderous vampire."

"At least I'm honest about it."

I laughed. "You are the most dishonest person I've ever met."

"How so?" he asked, almost sounding offended by my remark.

"Please. First you pretend to be human, then you go around lying about your position in the vampire world, all the while trying to be intimidating and threatening to kill us every other second."

"That's not a lie. I will kill you…eventually."

I rolled my eyes. "When?"

"When I feel like it. Lucky for you, I'm still entertained by your recklessness and all around lack of desire for self-preservation. It's just so unnatural, and I'm still trying to figure you out."

"Mmmhumm," I said unconcerned. "We can discuss this more later; let's concentrate on the task at hand."

We reached the place that we last saw Jacob, so we paused and looked around at the buildings to either side of the street.

"Are they here?" I asked.

Edward listened for a moment, and then he gestured towards a particular building to the left. "They're in there. They don't know we're here."

"Perfect. What about Jacob?"

He smirked. "He's tied up. They've been trying different ways to kill him but couldn't get through his fur. Now they're just holding him because they don't know what else to do."

I nodded. "Ok, let's get this over with."


	9. Demon

Chapter 9 – Demon

"Ok, let me do all the talking, and don't make eye contact with anyone," I instructed.

"Why the hell not?" Edward asked confused. "Maybe if they saw that my eyes weren't glowing red they may be a little more trusting."

"It's not about the color. People get intimidated when you stare them down."

"You've been hanging out with the dog too much," he argued. "I think you have people confused with canines."

"And how would you know? Are you human?"

"No, but…"

"And it's been a long time since you were around humans so I think I may know a little more on the subject than you do."

"Whatever," he relented. "After you," he said while holding his hand forward for me to walk in front of him.

"Thank you," I said smugly.

We walked into the building that Edward had said Jacob was being held in, and I was surprised to see him lying on the ground with chains around his wolf neck and over his back to hold him in place. He looked like he was sleeping, but then his head perked up when he noticed us in the room.

A group of humans walked in from the back room, and the moment they saw us they began yelling. One of them just happened to be carrying a bow with a lit arrow, and immediately shot it past my head and directly at Edward's chest. I didn't even have time to worry about it hitting him because before I could turn, Edward had the arrow caught in his left hand, and then he blew out the flame.

The men were shocked by his lightning quick reflexes, but it just made them that much more determined to kill him. A second man threw garlic while a third charged him with a cross.

"Stop, you're just going to hurt yourselves!" I shouted as they continued to try to attack Edward with no prevail. "Can we just have a cease fire for a moment so we can talk…Please?" I asked annoyed.

But they continued as if I hadn't spoken at all. When nothing worked, and all their weapons failed, the men finally stopped and just stared at him completely stunned.

But then Edward did something perplexing. He picked up a wooden cross from the ground in front of him, and analyzed it for a moment. "See the problem is that you just don't know how to use it correctly... It's done like this…" he said while taking the cross and pressing it flush against the skin on his neck. I didn't understand what he was doing, but then his head fell back in apparent searing pain and he dropped to the floor trembling. It was actually very convincing and I was almost worried about him…almost.

The men just watched him hopefully, but their hopes were soon killed when Edward started cracking up on the floor before he jumped up straight. "That was a riot, thanks."

"I don't understand…why isn't it dead?" I heard one of the men say nervously.

"Get more flaming arrows!" another man commanded.

A younger man raced for the door, but before he could even put his hand on the handle, Edward flashed over and caught him by his neck causing the others to all freeze.

"Ok, now listen up!" Edward demanded. "It was only fun for a minute, and now I'm bored. I'm not in the mood to catch any more of your ridiculous arrows."

"Please ma'am, call off your vampire, please, we won't attack again," a different man begged me. He must have been related to the younger man in Edward's grasp, his father or uncle, I assumed.

"Speak for yourself!" the first man yelled. "Consider the boy a casualty of war. Now go get those arrows!" he commanded one of the other men.

"My god, that's enough!" I shouted. "What kind of people are you? You'd let your friend die just to kill this one vampire?"

"It's the boy, or the rest of the people. That vampire could kill our entire community," the man replied. I assumed he was the leader of their little band of vampire hunters because he was the most aggressive…and he reminded me of my dad.

"Look, the vampire only consumes animal blood. He is not a threat to your city," I tried assuring them.

"Yes I am," Edward said casually behind me. "And the animal blood is by necessity, not by choice."

I ignored him. "I have been traveling with him for weeks now, and he has never harmed me; not even when my wolf protector was unconscious," I said, pointing at Jacob.

"But I will eventually," Edward added evenly.

I turned towards him and scowled. "Shut up! You are not helping here," I whisper-yelled. "And for Christ sakes, let go of that poor boy's neck."

Edward looked surprised that he was still choking the guy, as if he didn't even notice that his neck was being squeezed in his grasp. He nonchalantly let him go.

"So, you expect us to believe that you have both monsters under firm control?" the leader guy asked me incredulously.

"Yes."

"So, you are a witch?" a woman asked from the corner of the room. I didn't even see her there before, but I was fairly certain she was not the same girl who had kissed my hand the day before. This woman was older, more mature looking.

"No, I'm not a witch, and I didn't mean that I have the monsters under _my _control; they have control of themselves. They're my friends. Jacob over there is a shape shifter, and I've known him my whole life. He protects my people from vampires."

"Yeah right," Edward sneered.

"He can shift his shape?" a man asked warily, also choosing to ignore Edward's comments.

"Yeah. Jacob, why are you still lying there? Get up and turn back to a human," I told him, slightly irritated that he didn't think to do that sooner.

"If you think we're just going to untie that beast, you have another thing coming," the man argued.

"Don't worry, you don't need to. Get up Jake!"

Jacob wolf huffed and then easily broke out of the chains they had him locked in, but a snicker from Edward told me he had another issue for not phasing back.

"I guess modesty is more important than freedom," Edward teased.

"What happened to your clothes?" I asked Jake.

"Ahh, the big bad humans took them from you? How terrifying," Edward said mockingly.

"Where did you put his clothes?" I asked the people.

"Clothes?" the woman asked confused.

"The clothes that were tied to his hind leg," I clarified.

"Oh…we didn't know what they were, so we burned them."

Jacob whimpered, and Edward was consumed with a new round of laughter. The strangers in the room looked at the hysterical vampire with utter confusion.

"Is he mad?" the woman asked me warily.

"Yes," Edward replied between hysterics.

"No, he's not crazy, he's just pompous and has had a century of boredom," I explained. "He's just not a people's person. Do you have any spare clothes for my friend to change into?" I asked them.

"I'll find something," the woman offered. She disappeared and then quickly returned with a pair of trousers, which looked like they were going to be way too small for him, but I suppose they were better than nothing.

"So, if none of you are a threat to us, then what are you doing here?" the leader asked skeptically.

"We were just passing through…on our way to the mating colony in Florida to save my brother."

"The mating colony is in Phoenix," the man argued.

"Yes, but there is another in Florida. Apparently it's new," I explained.

"Going to any mating colony is a suicide mission,"

I nodded. "That's why I've enlisted the help of my friends here. We have reason to be hopeful."

"He's probably already dead. Wild people never do well in the system," he informed me.

I nodded again politely, but didn't agree. Emmett was a survivor and if anyone could adapt, it was him. "We weren't expecting to see people like this," I continued, trying to move past the subject of my brother. "My community really believed we were the last."

"And where-about is your community?" he questioned.

"It's -"

"None of your fucking business!" Edward cut in.

I looked at him incredulously, and was even more surprised by the sudden change in his mood yet again. He wasn't joking around anymore; he was seriously pissed at whatever was going through that guy's mind.

I immediately fell wary of them. "Look, we came in here to get Jacob, but also because I wanted to warn you. Those vampires, they've been lying to you. You can't hurt them. Not with garlic, or crosses, or wooden stakes. If you attack them, they'll use it as an excuse to kill more of you."

My knowledge on their situation immediately made them suspicious. "How do you know any of this?" the leader asked.

_Shit, I didn't think about that._ I supposed telling them about Edward's mind reading ability wasn't the best idea, so I needed to think of something else. "We…uh…overheard someone talking about it," I deflected. "I'd just hate to see more people die if it can be helped."

Jacob must have phased and dressed when we weren't paying attention, because the next thing I knew he was standing next to me wearing the pants that looked like they were one quick movement away from ripping at the seams. "I think we should go," he said anxiously.

The humans were all shocked by his transformation, but when I glanced at him I was even more shocked. There were faint red dots in sets of four all over his bare torso. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Bella," he leaned in so that the people couldn't hear him. "They have pitchforks. _Pitchforks_!" he whisper-yelled. "They tried to eat me."

"We had no way of knowing what you were," the leader guy said defensively. "We're still not sure."

Jacob glared at him.

"Listen…we have more wolves," I told the leader. "If we combine our cities and we teach you how to really defeat vampires, maybe we'll be able to get you out from under this vampire coven's grasp. You won't have to sacrifice anyone anymore."

The man looked at me considerately for a moment, and then I saw his eyes shift to Edward. Reflexively, Edward growled at whatever the man was thinking.

"So…what? We chained up the wolfboy and there's no hard feelings? You're just going to help us?"

"The human race is close to extinction, we need to stick together."

The man nodded. "I agree. But what is the vampire's role in all of this?" the leader asked me, but then turned to speak to Edward. "Why have you followed these two all this way? Hoping to access to their home, no doubt."

"I _had_ access to their home," Edward replied scornfully. "I chose to follow them because they promised a good time storming the mating colony and then a fight to the death with mutt over there. Certainly you can understand the appeal in that."

"I've never seen such color in the eyes before," the man said absently as he looked into Edward's mesmerizing eyes.

"It's the animal diet," Edward explained while looking at me smugly. _So he was right about the eye contact thing, go figure. _

"So…crosses and garlic really do nothing to your kind?" a different man asked Edward hesitantly. It was obvious they were all uneasy around him, and it would take time to get them to even slightly trust him.

"Nope."

"Why should we believe you over the vampires that have been coming here for the last decade?" another man asked.

"Didn't they say that vampires burn in the sun?" I asked. "You saw us walking down the street yesterday afternoon, just as we walked down the street in broad daylight today to get here. How could he do that if vampires burned in the sun? It's proof that they've lied."

"You're a witch," the woman offered. "You have protected him somehow."

I shook my head no.

"It wasn't in direct sunlight," the leader guessed.

"Well, that is true," I admitted. "He wasn't in direct sunlight otherwise he would have been sparkling."

"Sparkling?" the man questioned.

"Edward, show them how you really look in the sun," I insisted.

Edward sighed and then grudgingly walked to the window where the sun was shining brightly through. Everyone gasped at the sight, and I had to admit, so did I. He was absolutely beautiful and I wondered if I'd ever get used to it.

"When vampires were thought of as myth, they had to stay in the shadows because they definitely looked different," I told them absently, having a hard time breaking my eyes away from the glorious sight of Edward.

"And a wooden stake to the heart?" the leader asked after a few minutes.

"Try it," Edward offered.

The man picked up a wooden piece, and then cautiously moved closer to him before punching it as hard as he could into Edward's chest. Logically I knew it couldn't hurt him, but it was still painful to watch.

The stick shredded into splinters, and the man grabbed his hand in pain but refused to admit he was hurt.

"You see? You can't attack those vampires. It wouldn't do anything but cause more human deaths," I said, practically begging them to believe me. "The world has seen enough death and carnage. You don't need to add to it."

He nodded. "We are thankful you stumbled into our city. If you do have real knowledge of how to defeat them, then we are open to your instruction. Why don't you send your wolf back home to get the backup you mentioned, and we can devise a plan until they return?"

"Uh, my presence here is the only thing ensuring that the leech doesn't get out of line," Jacob argued.

"Yeah, cuz I'm so scared of you," Edward said flatly.

"None of us can stay at this time," I told them. "We're on a mission to save my brother; once we've secured him, we will come back with help."

"I don't understand, you just said you were going to help us?" the man said, beginning to get upset once again.

"We are…we just need to get my brother first," I said quickly.

"But how long will that take?" he asked heatedly. "Weeks, months? We have to offer sacrifices every night. How many more people have to die just so you can chase someone who is probably already dead?"

"Many people will die regardless," Edward said casually. "You stand up and try to fight, there will be deaths. There are always casualties of war, especially when you're so blatantly the underdog…No offense, Dog," he said to Jake.

"Your very existence offends me," Jake retorted.

"The feeling is mutual," Edward said unfazed.

"What's the point to coming back at all?" the woman asked anxiously. "You said there is no way to kill vampires, so how could we possibly fight them?"

"There _are_ ways to kill vampires, just not the ones you believe…well, except fire," I told them. "The fire thing is real. It's the only way to really kill them. A wolf can tear them apart, but until they're burned, they won't be fully defeated."

"But your vampire wasn't afraid of fire," she rebutted.

"No…I don't think he's afraid of anything, but that doesn't mean it won't kill him. Fire could kill us too, but we don't run from it. I imagine it's the same for him."

"How do you know all of this?" the leader asked, forcing himself back into the conversation despite the fact that he was pissed we were leaving.

"We learned a lot of it in school back home, and what we got wrong, Edward corrected us."

"How could you trust him?" the woman asked. "Regardless of whether he's hurt you or not, he's still a demon."

"You know, I keep telling her that," Edward said cockily.

"I can't tell you something specific that would convince you, but I do trust him completely. It's a feeling deep inside my gut."

"I'm sorry, but we don't have the luxury of trusting gut instincts around here," the leader spat. "We have upwards of three thousand people in this city, and despite the fact that our numbers decrease every day, we still can't risk everyone else's lives for something a stranger _believes_ in."

"I understand," I said sincerely. "But I need you to understand that attacking the coven with sticks and flamed arrows isn't going to help you. You saw how easily Edward caught that arrow you shot at him, and that was at close range."

He sighed. "We just can't do nothing."

"Then wait for us to return. It's your best shot…it's _all_ our best shot. In the meantime, teach everyone here the truth about vampires, ask them to stand up with us."

"We still have the prison, Amun," the woman said soothingly. "As long as there are criminals here, we have sacrifices."

"You sacrifice the people who break laws?" Jacob said surprised.

"Of course that would be our first choice. Why would we offer a good man, a father or someone who could potentially have children one day? If we don't have any criminals, we offer the ill, and after that we assign everyone a number and randomly select someone."

"That's terrible," I said sympathetically.

"That's life!" the leader snapped back at me. "We never had the privilege of having vampire shredding beasts to protect us."

I wasn't about to apologize for my town's safety over the years, that was just ridiculous. My father was an incredible leader, and he was credited for our survival just as much as the wolves.

"If you're continuing through to Florida, please take advantage of our hospitality first," the woman said warmly, trying to defuse the man's anger. She wasn't looking for more enemies; I wasn't sure about the rest of them. "We have plenty of water. I could pour you a bath."

"Really?" I asked eagerly. I'd do just about anything for a bath at that point.

"Of course," the woman said with a grin. "I'm Kebi, by the way, and this is my husband Amun," she said, pointing at the angry man who I figured was the leader. "Benjamin, Tyler, Michael, Eric, and Peter," she said, introducing the different men in the room. They each nodded at me when their names were called.

"I'm Bella, and Jacob is the wolf, and Edward the vampire," I told them, almost giggling by how ridiculous it was for me to introduce them in that way. I rarely saw them as the monsters they were anymore; they were just my companions and had almost become my family in a way.

After our baths we were given something terrible to eat, and then we took them up on their offer of shelter for the remainder of the day and coming night. Jake and I were each given our own room to rest in, and I figured the people were nervous about Edward being loose in the city, so I offered to keep him in my room all night to ensure he wasn't going around stalking people while they slept. It was actually a win-win scenario - they got a little more peace of mind, and I got an excuse to keep my own personal AC unit with me in my room.

"You sure you don't mind having him in there with you?" Jake asked me, mildly disturbed.

"We'll be fine," I assured him. "He's just going to sit there while I sleep anyway."

"Yeah but…"

"Don't worry dad, I have my chastity belt on," I joked.

Jake's face morphed into pure shock and disgust. "Ugh! Don't make me puke. Why would you even kid about something like that?"

"Oh stop," I said annoyed. "Goodnight, Jacob."

"I'm right next door if you need anything," he made sure I knew.

I nodded, and then shut the door.

We were in what looked like an old apartment building, which was complete with dirty furniture and even some dusty old books on a shelf, which Edward was silently browsing though.

"You can read?" I asked surprised.

He laughed once. "Why does that shock you?"

I shrugged. "I just didn't think a vampire would ever have a reason to read."

"That may be true for most vampires, but it doesn't mean they can't do it. We were all human once, and with the endless capacity of our brains, we could learn easily if we didn't already know how to before our transformation….In multiple languages, none the less."

"Huh," I said, wondering why I never thought about that before. "Well, we have another long trip tomorrow, so I think I'm going to try to sleep."

But just because I was given a musty bed and all the water I needed, didn't mean I was exactly comfortable. I was from a cold wet place, so being in such a dry heat was still traumatic to my system, and despite the roof over my head, I needed to find more relief than the open window allowed.

"Edward?" I said with a little whine. He may have been a demon in disguise, but surely he'd have mercy on me if I sounded pathetic enough.

"I'm reading," he said evenly.

"Well, read over here."

"I like this chair," he replied.

I rolled my eyes. "You don't' give a shit about the chair. Get over here!"

"I said _no_!" he growled menacingly.

I should have been scared of the noise, but instead I was just bitter.

I grudgingly laid in the nasty bed, and then proceeded to toss and turn for the next hour as I tried to get comfortable enough to sleep, but it was no use.

"Edward!" I practically begged.

He huffed, but of course he eventually complied. I think a part of him even liked that I was so desperate for his coolness; it probably made him feel like he had some kind of power over me. I didn't really care either way, as long as he kept down my body temperature.

He sat on the bed next to me, and I rolled over and laid across his lap while he continued to read the book he had. But something was different that night. Perhaps it was the very human way he looked reading, or maybe it was the fact that we were in a real bed of sorts and I was positioned across him in that way, but whatever it was, it was definitely unexpected. My entire body tensed from his closeness, and it had nothing to do with being afraid. It felt odd, something I never experienced before, and I wasn't exactly sure how to describe. It was a tingling in every muscle that seemed to roll out in waves coming from an epicenter right between my thighs.

_What the hell was wrong with me?_

I didn't understand the feeling, but I couldn't ignore it either. The strange pulsating sensation in my crotch only grew, and I had no choice but to physically grab ahold of it as subtly as possibly.

"What are you doing?" Edward asked disturbed. I guess it wasn't as subtle as I was hoping. But the deep rumble and huskiness of his voice made me shudder, magnifying the pulses tenfold. And then I understood. I learned about it in school and read about it in books, but never did I experience pure unadulterated arousal until that moment.

The realization only made me question my sanity even more. I had to be fucking insane. How the hell could I be that turned on by a vampire?

Suddenly, without my permission, my hand slowly inched up his body. It started at his leg where it was originally resting, and then it crept towards his thigh, and then up to the waistband of his pants.

"Bella, what the fuck?" he asked me, but he didn't move.

My hand continued to travel upwards but took a dive at the hem of his shirt, choosing to go under the fabric instead of over. I almost gasped by the incredible feeling of his marble smooth abdomen, but an audible gasp would only freak us both out more so I held it in.

I raised his shirt at the same time as I raised my head to get a better look at his perfect bare torso, and the next thing I knew, my lips somehow fell down onto his chest.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked again. It was a good question - _what the fuck was I doing._ But I couldn't stop. The only way I was going to stop was if he physically pushed me off of him and probably broke my arm or something in the process, which he didn't do. He didn't do anything really; he was frozen in place, stunned by my forward advancements.

I kissed a trail of kisses down his torso until I reached the top of his pants. That annoying piece of fabric that stood in the way of the terribly dangerous urge that I suddenly had. Very slowly, I made the conscious decision to unfasten the button there. I didn't notice until that moment that his hands were clinched into fists besides him as if he was holding on for dear life, though in that case, I was sure it was _my_ life that was on the line instead of his. But I still didn't stop.

When I unzipped him however, I had finally gone too far….or at least, that's what he wanted me to believe. Suddenly I was on my back and he was over me. His arms were straight, with one hand on either side of my face, and his eyes were blazing furiously.

"Stop!" he seethed. "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but I'm _not_ joking with you. I will kill you."

My chest began to rise and fall and at a fast pace. _Was I finally afraid of him?_ I had to think about it for a moment, but then I noticed that his position made his shirt fall away from his body and I couldn't help but reach back up and touch his muscles there one more time. I guess I wasn't afraid after all.

He growled at me like a vicious animal, deranging his face to look like the demon he claimed to be, but for the life of me, I couldn't even force myself to pretend to be scared. I had no reason to think I could push him over, because well, for obvious reasons, but I tried anyway and actually wasn't the least bit surprised when he fell back easily. He was in his previous position of sitting up against the backboard of the bed, and I climbed onto his lap, straddling his hips and immediately returning my lips to his skin, but this time, it was the skin on his neck.

I started licking and nipping at his throat, and then unconsciously began grinding my pelvis into his. I probably would have stopped eventually if I really thought it was a one sided thing, but just when I was about to give up I felt his hands on my ass, encouraging me by gently pushing me to continue when I slowed. His pants hit me in just the right spot, and apparently he felt it too because suddenly it wasn't his pants that I was feeling anymore.

I kissed up his jaw and over to the corner of his lips, when his head abruptly jerked back, moving his face just out of reach. "I wouldn't," he warned me.

I nodded in understanding. He didn't want me anywhere near his mouth. But I must have been somewhat of a masochist because of course I didn't listen. I tangled my hands in the back of his hair, and went in for the kill. My lips attacked his, leaving no room for hesitations or fear. If he was going to bite me, at least it would be while I was doing something that felt amazing.

He let me kiss him, only letting out a small growl that morphed into something that sounded more like a moan. And then he kissed me back. His mouth moved eagerly with mine, but he wasn't done with threats just yet.

"This is not going to end well," he mumbled as we continued to kiss. "How the fuck am I going to explain the fact that I killed you while doing this?"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," I replied unfazed.

Our kissing, combined with the continued grinding of my pelvis on his, caused an explosion of frenzied passion that was all consuming. I didn't even remember removing our clothes, but somehow we both ended up naked, though our position never seemed to change. He guided me over him, slowing our movements so that the initial barrier break wouldn't be something I could ever forget, but I didn't want to wait a moment longer, so I gritted my teeth and sunk down on him.

I didn't care about the pain so much that there simply was no pain. Just desire. Just rough, insane, desperate, desire. The burning inside of me could only be put out that way, and I wasn't going to stop until it was.

"Fuck," he said to himself as I began moving on top of him.

Every inch of me was a live wire, and his mere touch was more intense than anything I had ever experienced before. I was almost fanatical with my movements. It was a high I never knew existed before, and I was instantly addicted.

My head fell back and I let out a low moan as the tightening in my stomach increased, but then he took me by surprise when he rolled us over so that he was back on top. His fists balled onto the covers below me and his face actually looked pained as he thrust into me. A small part of me wanted to ask if he was ok, but I couldn't speak, not right then anyway.

My hands caressed up his perfect back muscles, and my legs locked securely to the sides of his hips, but I still felt like I could fly away at any moment. I would have completely let go by then, but his expression was troubling me and interfering with the sensation that I could feel was just moments away from consuming me.

I moved my hand to his face, and gently tried to stroke away the intense stress riddled there.

"FUCK!" he shouted unexpectedly as he continued to thrust. "I want to fucking bite you!"

For whatever reason, that just turned me on even more. Yep, I was definitely a masochist.

"Do it!" I yelled back at him. I wasn't joking. I couldn't bring myself to think beyond that moment, so I honestly didn't care if I died. It was a couple of stupid irrational fragments of time, but I was incredibly serious. I almost wanted it. Not to become a vampire, I'd never want that, but just to feel his venom coursing through my system. Just for a few minutes, just to see what it felt like, just to be completely and utterly connected to him. As close as two beings could possibly be.

And then…his lips found my neck…and I gasped as his teeth ripped through my skin.


	10. Hot Air

Chapter 10 – Hot Air

_Dying was easy, peaceful…life was harder…._or some stupid shit like that_._ I wasn't really sure why that thought entered my mind, but it came and went like a bad romance novel tossed to the side out of pure cheesiness.

I awakened to a bright light blistering my face, and had to immediately shield my eyes so that a black spot wouldn't be forever burned into my vision. Why the hell was it so hot? But even worse than the heat, I felt grimy and my head was pounding in the most horrible migraine I could possibly imagine. I tried to remember what happened to bring me to that place on the scorching dirt, but things were fuzzy and I felt disoriented.

But my survival instincts suddenly kicked in, and I forced my aching body to sit up and survey my surroundings. I was outside, in what looked like a desert of some sort that was eerily familiar. A whole lot of nothing encircled me, and I became confused even more when my memory abruptly returned, hitting me like a freight train.

_What the hell did I do?_

Reminiscence of every touch, every kiss, flooded my mind making me shudder with a painful twinge right through my core.

"Hey, you ok?" a deep but squeaky voice asked from behind me. I turned to see Jacob leaning over with his hands on his knees to check on me.

"Uh…yeah," I said, though I had no idea where we were or what happened after Edward bit me…._Did he actually bite me?_ It was utterly surreal and completely confusing. _What the fuck was wrong with me?_ I even asked for it. I was like a fucking loon…maybe I was possessed. "Where are we?" I asked, wondering how or why we got out of the city.

"Phoenix," Jacob said, sounding confused that I was confused.

"Phoenix?" I asked flabbergasted. "What the hell do you mean, Phoenix?"

"Bella, are you okay?" he asked concerned.

"No, she's not ok," another voice entered the conversation - A mesmerizing and much more alluring voice that echoed through my body and made me shudder with bizarre pleasure. I turned to see Edward's glorious form, sparking in the hot desert sun and reflecting the light like rainbows radiating out of a prism. "I told you, she hit her fucking head when we had to run from the vampires," he said to Jacob.

"Vampires?" I asked, even more confused.

"Maybe she has a concussion," Jacob speculated.

"Probably," Edward agreed. "We should try to keep her awake for a while, just in case. Why don't you go fetch something to eat and I'll keep an eye on her?"

"Fetch? Fuck you! Why don't _you_ go get us something to eat? You're the one who usually does the hunting," Jacob said sourly.

Edward glared at him. "Listen dog, I know you think of yourself as my pet and all, but I'm getting tired of being responsible for feeding you all the time. Go get your own damn food."

"Whatever. Fucking bloodsucker," Jake mumbled bitterly.

"That hurt, pup. Really, I'm crying inside," Edward responded evenly as Jacob sulked off towards the endless wasteland before us.

"Ok, what's going on?" I asked him frustrated when Jake was safely out of hearing range. "How did we get here?"

"The vampires were going to attack us if we didn't take off," he explained emotionlessly.

"No…wait, what? What vampires?"

"You really are confused aren't you?" he asked amused.

"Yes, the last thing I remember is…us doing…_it_," I said suggestively.

His face distorted into a mask of confusion. "Bella, I have no idea what you're talking about. Doing what?"

"Last night…in the apartment…on the bed," I told him, perplexed as to why he was playing dumb.

"You hit your head…you're confused," he told me slowly.

"I know what I'm talking about. We had sex last night!" I blurted out.

Edward looked at me stunned for a minute, and then he busted out laughing. "Wow, that's some vivid imagination you have there. God, I wish I could read your mind to witness that fantasy. I mean, I knew you double clicked your mouse to the thought of me, but damn."

"Clicked my mouse? What the hell does that mean?" I asked completely lost.

"It's a joke…just, never mind," he said dismissively.

"Wait, you're saying none of that actually happened?" I asked with a mix of panic and embarrassment. "We didn't have sex?"

"Bella, there's no way in hell you'd be still sitting there if we had sex. Vampires aren't compatible with humans. I'd kill you. Squish you like a fucking accordion. But it's nice to know you're attracted me in that way, thanks," he said cockily.

I pushed away my humiliation to try to make sense of everything. We were in Phoenix. They said we ran from vampires. What the hell did that mean? "So…the city in Texas…the people with the crosses and human sacrifices…none of it ever happened?" I asked, wondering how the hell I could ever dream up something like that.

Edward chuckled darkly at me, but otherwise didn't even bother with an answer.

I knew I was fucking insane, but I never imagined I could be _that _insane. It felt so real; I could still clearly remember the smoothness of his muscles and how his skin tasted. And _ohh_, the feeling of him inside of me; it made me quiver just thinking about it_. How could I have imagined it? _Although, he was perfect, and I guess that kind of perfection couldn't be real. Perhaps the heat was causing me to hallucinate. It sure was one hell of a hallucination and a large part of me wished I could go back there.

Jacob came back a while later with a couple of rabbits, and I really hoped Edward didn't mention my mortifyingly realistic dream. I could just imagine him using it to antagonize Jacob and have a good laugh at his expense.

Luckily, he didn't say a word. Jacob and I just went right to work skinning the animals and building the fire. After we ate, we got up and decided we needed to get moving. We had a lot of distance to cover, and I was starting to worry that we may not get there in time.

In a strange bout of déjà vu, I pulled a string off the hem of my shirt and used it to tie my hot sweaty hair away from my neck. The moment I finished, Edward came up behind me and ripped the string right out so that my hair would once again fall into heavy drapes around my face.

"Don't," he warned, and that was when I felt it. That familiar phantom cold spot on my neck where his lips were once attached.

"You bit me," I said slowly.

Jacob immediately stopped walking and turned back towards us. He pushed my hair over my shoulder and looked at my wound. "I thought it was just a hickey thing?"

"Never said it wasn't," Edward said evenly.

"Well, this looks almost worse than before. I thought it healed?" Jake asked concerned.

"Guess not," Edward replied.

Jacob narrowed his eyes at him. "What did you do to her back at the mating colony?"

"The guard members were getting pushy; I had to make it believable. I told them she was my singer and I had to prove it. She's alive, isn't she? Be grateful and move on."

"Yeah, but is it really just big hickey? Why did she just say you bit her?"

"Why do you ask questions that I've already answered," Edward said menacingly - making it clear that he wasn't going to say anymore on the subject.

"Whatever," Jacob mumbled, and then turned around and continued to lead the way heading east.

I pressed my hand into the cool spot on my neck, and looked at Edward suspiciously. He was lying about something…maybe he was lying about everything, I couldn't be sure.

We walked a while in silence, but then Jacob said something that made me begin to question it all again. "So, do you think they're tracking us?"

"Why would they track us if they didn't suspect anything?" I asked, and then turned to Edward. "They believed you were that Cullen thing, right?"

"Like those vamps care about that," Jake said with a laugh. "If they don't respect the leaders, why would they care if he was a Cullen?"

"Are we talking about the same vamps here?" I asked, because the guards at the Phoenix mating colony definitely seemed impressed by Edward's Cullen status.

"The vamps in _Austin_," Jake told me slowly. "What vamps did you think we were talking about?"

"We _were_ in Texas!" I shouted exasperated.

"Of course we were in Texas," Jake said with a laugh. "You must have hit your head pretty freaking hard, Bells."

"Wait, if we were in Texas, why are we back in Phoenix?"

"We had to backtrack," he explained. "Follow our own scent trails back here so we can try to lose him. We'll have to loop back over a different way. You were pretty out of it so Edward carried you."

"How did we get back here so fast when it took us over a week to get there before?" I asked.

"Man, we ran full speed the entire way," Jake said tiredly. "It was probably a good thing you were so out of it; you were able to keep your breathing steady which would have been hard to do if you were awake."

"And…what vampires were after us?" I asked, trying to make sense of everything.

"The coven that has control of Austin," Jake clarified.

"When did that happen?"

"That night…three nights ago now…the only night we spent there. I was catching some Z's and then Edward came barging in my room with you thrown over his shoulder. He said they were coming so we hightailed outta there."

"No," Edward contradicted. "_You_ high-_tailed_ outta there. I just ran."

I stared at him blankly for a moment, and then I erupted. "You lied to me!" I screamed as I began smacking him all over. He lifted his arms to shield himself from my attacks, though I was certain it hurt me much more than it hurt him - he probably couldn't even really feel it. "You made me believe I was crazy, you fucking jerk!"

"What's going on?" Jake asked, somewhat amused by my outburst and physical attack on Edward.

"Yes Bella, what is going on?" Edward asked with a chuckle as I hit him two more times.

"He tried to convince me that I dreamed our entire stay in Austin!" I yelled bitterly…and hit him one more time.

"Why on earth would I do that?" Edward asked innocently.

"You know why," I seethed.

"Why?" Jake asked confused.

"Tell him why, Bella," Edward challenged me as if the entire thing was one big joke. _Fucking vampire!_

"Because he's a moron!" I said to Jake sourly.

"No, don't copout, tell him why you're so upset that I lied," Edward continued. "Tell him what happened while he was lying right next door. Damn dog is far too heavy of a sleeper; you'd think he would have heard something, especially since the window was open."

"What the hell is he talking about?" Jacob asked, completely ignorant.

"Nothing! He's delusional," I spat.

"Oh, now I'm the delusional one?" Edward said sarcastically. "That's hilarious. You're definitely the one who takes walks outside your right mind. If you were alive during my time as a human, they would have locked you in a fucking loony bin."

I couldn't really argue with that.

"Bella, what's going on? What did I miss?" Jake asked irritated.

"Never mind!" I nearly hissed. "It's not important, and I want nothing more than to _forget it_."

I was so mad that I was literally seeing red and my body trembled. But the truth stood tall, staring down on me like a totem pole….I was actually pissed at myself. How could I ever have such disturbing, disgusting desires? How the hell could I ever be attracted to the insensitive arrogant jackass, and the fact that he was a horrid vampire only added to my self-loathing. What the fuck kind of person was I? He was a murderer, a soulless demon, and I'd never forgive myself for what I did.

I really just wanted to go home. I failed. I lost control of both myself and the monster. It was the worst thing I had ever done. The Austin leader Amun was right, Emmett was probably dead and I was just on some worthless mission, selling my soul to the very darkness that destroyed the world.

"How far are we from Florida?" I asked vacantly as we walked.

"About 2000 miles, or something," Jake said wearily.

"And how far is it to Washington?" I asked.

"Like 1500 miles," he said even more jadedly.

I sighed. "Maybe we should just…give up," I said somberly.

"Well….if that's really what you want to do," Jake said, trying to sound supportive but I could hear the underlying hope in his voice.

Edward snorted.

If I wasn't so pissed at him already I might have let it go, but as we stood right then I just couldn't. "And what the hell is it to you!" I snapped at him.

"Nothing. I think it's great. Brilliant actually. You should go home, it was a good effort on your part. I sure as hell didn't expect you to go this far. But if you don't mind, I think I'll continue on to Florida regardless. I am a Cullen after all, I'm sure the guard will throw me a few humans. Who knows, maybe I'll come across that brother of yours. He's probably already been mated and has a few babies on the way. If I play my part well, I may even get one of his pregnant bitches…You can't imagine how intensely delicious the blood of a pregnant woman can be."

I wanted to vomit. How much more repulsive could this monster be? Eating pregnant woman…pregnant women with my niece or nephew inside of her, none the less. Despite how angry I was however, I didn't actually believe for a moment that he was planning to kill anyone. He was an enigma of a creature, an anomaly of his kind, and for whatever reason he was constantly full of hot air. Sure he warned me that he was going to bite me and he seemed to have followed through, but I was still alive and as far as I could tell, still human. So he was basically one for like…a million. One fulfilled threat out of countless others that would fizzle in the sands of time. He was pathetic really. A toothless vampire. All bark and no bite - I snickered at the thought and wished more than anything he could hear me mentally comparing him to a dog.

But he was right about one thing - Emmett could still be alive, and if he was, then perhaps I could be a few months away from becoming an aunt. There was no way in hell I'd sit back and let my niece or nephew become someone's meal.

"Fine…we continue east," I said, letting my stubbornness come back full force.

Jacob sighed, but Edward let out a devilish smirk that was both irritating and sexy as hell...which just irritated me more. Yeah, I knew he played me, and he knew that I knew. It was a fucked up situation no matter how you looked at it.

After walking silently for a few hours, my already aching muscles began to protest so I couldn't help but voice my complaints. "So…why were you able to run full speed through almost three states, but now we're walking again?" I asked tiredly.

"We were running for our lives, Bella," Jake explained. "We had adrenaline on our side but it took a lot out of me, and we still haven't had much time to rest since then. I don't think I could run half a state right now, especially not in this heat."

As much as it sucked, I understood. Fuck. So we continued to walk a few more hours until the sun dipped below the horizon, and then we made camp. Another hot night in the wilderness.

God, I missed home. I missed the coolness of the forest, and my room, and my bed, and my friends, and my dad. But most of all, I missed Emmett. He had been the most important person in the world to me…back when the world stretched as far as the wall surrounding the village allowed. I supposed it was only natural for me to want to break through those boundaries and venture off into the great unknown, but I never thought I'd betray my entire race by fucking around with a vampire.

The more I thought about it, the more livid I became with myself. I sat there in our makeshift bed for the evening, just stewing in my disgust. Jacob was soon reduced to a large pile of stink and snores, and I was once again left alone with the lion in sheep's clothing.

He came and sat next to me, as he always did at night, but I wasn't about to lay against him…not after what happened. I'd rather boil to death then ever touch him again.

"I actually have no idea why you're so pissed at me," Edward said casually after several minutes.

"You have no idea?" I asked incredulously. "Well, you're even denser than I thought."

"I am a fairly complex individual," he agreed lightly. "But I rather enjoy that quality in myself."

"You know what strikes me as odd?" I asked, trying to make my question sound like a legitimate conversation starter. Edward turned towards me in mock interest; we both knew I wasn't heading towards a chummy topic. "Two vastly different species have the ability to still communicate…albeit in an illogical, unbeneficial way. I just don't understand how that could be possible. It's almost disappointing. What I wouldn't give to be able to understand dog or horse language more than vampires."

He nodded absently. "I suppose it is hard to understand Jacob. I'm just as frustrated by it as you are."

"Huh?" I didn't even comprehend his comment at first, so I had to think about it. _Oh – I wished to understand dog language and Jacob was a wolf_…that was so fucking hilarious I couldn't even think straight – though I thought that last bit with an annoyed scornful tone as my head began to pound from the idiocy of it.

But then I had to take a minute to silently reflect on my reflections. My thoughts…something private that even a mind reading vampire couldn't break into… were starting to oddly mimic Edward's crude sarcastic personality flaws. I realized then that not only was I cussing a lot more, but I was often bitter and pessimistic…and I was definitely finding little quirks in my best friend irritating that I had previously considered charming. And don't get me started on people! Those strange humans back in Austin that were an unhealthy mix of hospitable controlled chaos, and heathenism.

I squeezed my eyes shut to try to quiet my mind, but suddenly my neck began to throb uncontrollably. It was like my wound was screaming at me to lash out at my assailant.

"What did you do to me?" I nearly shouted. Jacob stirred on the other side of me, but then settled back into a steady rhythm of snoring and the random audible farts. It was nauseating.

Edward looked at Jake, and then shook his head. "Useless," he said quietly before looking back at me. "I didn't do anything to you that you didn't ask me to do."

"Why did you lie about it?" I asked sourly.

"Because I could," he stated unapologetically. "I think you underestimate me, and you needed to learn a lesson."

I huffed, but decided not to argue that point. "Why can't I remember anything that happened after you bit me…and why the hell have I been so…_like you_ lately?" I asked bitterly.

"You've been like me?" he asked amused. "Wow, you should probably see a shrink about the fact you want to kill people all the time. I mean, I'm a vampire, what's your excuse?"

"UGH!" I growled frustrated. "I don't even know what a SHRINK is!"

"Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting you're a post-takeover human."

"What does that mean?"

"You grew up after the vampire takeover. I guess they wouldn't have shrinks in your village, would they?"

I rolled my eyes. "Just tell me what's going on with me?"

"I don't know what's going on with you. Maybe…and I'm going out on a limb here…but just maybe you're growing up."

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"You've lived a very sheltered life Bella, who knows what kind of personality you would have had under more natural circumstances. Your feistiness could have already been inside you, but until you got away from your father and brother's strict grasp it couldn't be realized."

"So you expect me to believe that you had nothing to do with these…irrational and crude thoughts running through my head?"

"Uh…last time I checked, you were the witch, not me," he joked. I scowled at him so he forced himself into a more serious state. "I can't influence you if you don't want to be influenced. I'm a mind _reader_, not someone who can force thoughts into someone's mind…and the reading thing doesn't even work on you so I really don't understand what you're accusing me of."

"Well…what about when you bit me? Did you leave some venom in there or something?" I knew I was reaching with that one, but I just needed to be sure that my thoughts and desires were really coming purely from myself.

"I bit you the first time because it was the only way to convince the mating colony guards that I was telling them the truth. They would have smelled it if I didn't break the skin. And when I bit you again the other day it was only because you told me to. I seem to have mastered the ability of having little taste and then sucking the venom out before it does any permanent damage. I'm quite proud of myself, actually. It's not an easy thing to do….But no, there's no residual venom or anything else that could affect you."

"So…I'm still _me_…just an evolving me," I said, mostly to myself.

"Yes…and we could all be grateful for that."

I looked at him surprised. "Why's that?"

He shrugged. "You're too much fun to become a mindless pawn. I think I'd miss you."

I raised my brows and couldn't help the small grin that escaped my lips. "Wow, a little honesty."

"I _have_ been honest…like sixty percent of the time."

"Nice," I said sarcastically.

"That's more than half," he said defensively.

"Do you want a medal?" I deadpanned.

"Do you have one? A pat on the back would suffice…or even a simple _'congratulations'_ or _'good job, Edward'_."

I rolled my eyes at him again. "Good job, Edward," I said emotionlessly.

"Thank you," he said with a grin.

We were both quiet for a while as we shuffled through our thoughts, but when I wiped the sweat off my forehead Edward noticed. "Get over here," he told me.

"No, I'm fine," I said stubbornly. I didn't want to touch him at all…bad things happened when I got too close to him…things I'd end up regretting later.

"I promise I won't bite," he said in a teasing tone.

"Don't make promises that you can't keep."

"I promise I won't bite you," he said again. "Unless you want me to."

"Why would I _want _you to bite me?"

"I think we both know you're a bit of a masochist," he said with an annoyingly irresistible crooked smile.

I huffed, but refused to admit that he may be right.

"Stop being so rigid and come over here," he insisted. "I know you're hot."

I scowled and crossed my arms in front of me refusing to budge…but of course, my resolve didn't last long. A few minutes later I sighed and then crawled over and climbed onto his lap facing him. He bent his legs up so I could rest my back against them, and we just stared at each other for a few beats. He was wise not to rub his victory in my face.

"So tell me," I started. "Was the Austin coven really after us, or was that just a lie you told Jacob because you were worried about covering up the state I was in?"

"You weren't in any _state_," he argued. "You passed out because you were beyond exhausted. It had nothing to do with me….except for the fact that you may have hit your head pretty hard on the wall at one point."

"On the wall?" I asked, feeling my head begin to throb once again.

"Yeah…I may have gotten a little carried away….But no harm done, you're fine."

"What-ever. Tell me about our hasty exit; why was it necessary."

"Well that human, Amun, the one we figured was the leader - turns out he wasn't the actually leader after all. I mean, he was the leader of the vampire hunting gang, but not the leader if the city. I would have known that if someone thought it, but for whatever reason, no one did. Anyway, the real leader is a guy named Alistair, and after we were in the rooms he was told about us. Let's just say he wasn't as welcoming as the other humans we met."

"So…he told the coven about us?" I asked concerned.

"Not only that, but he was planning to use _you_ as the evening's sacrifice."

"Oh," I said stunned.

"I heard the plan in their minds when they were coming to get you, and immediately threw you over my shoulder and went to wake the mutt. We would have just continued on our way to Florida, but I also saw the faces of a few of the coven members in their minds, and I knew we were in deep shit."

"You know them?"

"Oh yeah, I know them…and they know me. Trust me, we do not want to get into a fight with them cuz we won't win."

He absently began rubbing his hands up and down my legs. If I wasn't so focused on what we were talking about, I would have been thrust into that familiar state of desire, so I was grateful for the distracting conversation topic.

"What if they recognize your scent?" I asked worriedly.

"I'm sure they will, but I've been MIA for over a decade now, so maybe they'll just chalk it up to me trying to pick off a few of the humans there. Since none are missing, they'll figure that I was unsuccessful and maybe let me go."

"The humans won't tell them about our plan and Florida?" I asked concerned.

He shook his head. "I believe only this Alistair guy directly deals with them, and he was just pissed that strangers were in his city and had a vamp with them. I don't think Amun told him everything, because despite his anger, he really does want the help you were offering."

His hands moved further up my thighs, and I completely forgot what we were talking about. "What are you doing?" I asked him, grudgingly amused by the fact that the tables had turned; this time I was the one resisting it. I suppose it made sense though, he now knew he could handle it, and I was just plain confused by my own actions and feelings.

"I'm not doing anything," he replied while rubbing up my groin. "You would think with vampires running the world that they'd find a way to make clothes a little more durable. Think how easy it would be for me to poke a hole right through this fabric."

My breathing hitched despite myself.

"If you do that, then I'll be forced to walk around naked," I warned him. "Although, I'm sure Jacob would love that."

"He probably would. Now I kind of feel like I should rip them…that poor animal will never have another chance to see you pant-less. I mean, he is risking his life for you, it's the least you could do."

I nodded. "You're right. But maybe I should take it even further and give him a sympathy fuck."

At some point I began unconsciously grinding my pelvis into his again, and it felt so good that I couldn't even bring myself to be pissed about it.

"Wow, I never took you as a freak that was into bestiality," he said huskily, moaning over a few words as he spoke.

"Well, I don't know about beasts, but I obviously have issues with demons," I told him as I leaned forward with my hands on his chest so that I could move around more easily. "It's getting to be a problem."

His hands repositioned themselves on my ass as he urged me to continue my movements. "Some people get off on a brush with danger," he offered with a few huffs and a couple of grunts.

"And some people get off by fucking their food," I said brazenly. "Though, those freaks are few and far between."

"You're not the first person who's called me special," he said with a pompous grin that was far too sexy than I knew what to do with.

Fuck, it was going to happen again, and I had no way of stopping it. My body just refused to listen to reason, even when the first time proved to come back to bite me…literally.

"Keep yourself muzzled," I warned him while I sat up on my knees to either side of his hips, and began unfastening my pants.

"I find offense in all dog references," he warned me. "But if you can't handle a little pain, I fully understand."

"It's not the pain," I told him. "I just don't want the added risk. There's no way in hell I want to become a vampire."

He laughed once darkly. "I'd kill you before I'd change you."

I glanced to the side at Jacob to make sure he was still safely unconscious, and then I removed my pants. Edward undid his pants as well, and I quickly straddled him again before slowly sinking down on his glorious hardness.

_Fuck! _

Who was I kidding; I could never regret something that felt so amazing - not even when I was pissed at him.

As I began to move, his hand reached under my shirt and pulled down my bra so he could caress my breasts; I had no choice but to let my head fall back from the marvelous feeling of it.

"Gah," Edward huffed as I changed the direction of my hip movements.

When his hands traveled back down my body, I leaned forward and knotted my hands in his hair. My conscience warned me to not tempt his mouth again, but I couldn't help but kiss him. His lips were the best thing I had ever tasted, and I couldn't get enough of them. I only pulled back again a short time later because I couldn't tell which one I preferred more…kissing him, or watching his breathtaking features morph back and forth between the pain of restraint and intense pleasure.

I kissed his jaw and then trailed my lips up to his ear. "Does this feel good?" I murmured, thrusting my hips forward to clarify my meaning.

"Fuck!" he grunted through gritted teeth. "Yes,"

"How good?" I asked, though I wasn't exactly sure where I was going with the question.

"Fucking amazing," he responded.

"Better than anything?"

He nodded.

"Better than…blood?" I asked, surprising myself almost as much as him.

"That's an impossible thing to answer," he growled.

"Try," I said while rotating my hips in a circular motion.

"I'm still deciding," he admitted.

"Decide faster!" I demanded.

"Fuck woman! You'll have your answer if I make it through this without biting you!"

I could accept that. In fact, I was excited for the challenge. It wasn't really the biting itself that bothered me _– maybe I did enjoy it more than I was willing to admit _- I just needed to know that he could truly control the demon inside him…It was the only way I wouldn't hate myself for wanting him so badly.


	11. Opening Up

A/N: Many people asked about this…so here's the answer. Remember, this is labeled AU meaning I can make this little change. You'll understand what I mean as you read (sorry if you're disappointed)

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Chapter 11 – Opening Up

I could feel the tightening deep inside my gut, and it all streamed out from there. My breathing hiked, and Edward became completely silent. He was beautiful when his features were all relaxed like that…he almost looked human. It was bittersweet when his serenity passed, but the pleasure-filled expression on his face was almost better.

We both seemed to tense into our climax at the same time, and a very small part of me missed the added sensation of his bite to my neck, but I wasn't ready to admit that to him…at least not yet.

He had been doing incredible for the past two weeks of our midnight trysts, and he had even been a little less pompous during our daytime trekking. I suppose a little sex had lifted his spirits - perhaps vampires weren't all that different than humans after all – men of both species seemed to do better when they were being fucked regularly.

But I knew it was difficult for him. He had resorted to this strange Zen–like state when the impulse to bite me was the strongest, and he tended to fall in and out of that Zen during a few different stages of our nightly connection. He was beautiful during that time, but I still felt bad for him.

"So…have you ever…you know, done this before?" I asked as we basked in the afterglow. I really didn't think he was a virgin before me because…well, _look_ at him; he'd have to be gay to not have females constantly throwing themselves at him, but I had to ask because he did seem a little unsure at times. It was an apprehensive look behind his eyes that he tried to hide, but I saw it, even if I never commented on it before then.

"Done what?" he asked confused and a little languid. After sex was the only time he ever looked tired, but I suppose tiredness could just be misinterpreted contentment.

"This," I said, gesturing to the way I was lying against him intimately. We had already redressed because I didn't want to risk Jake waking up and seeing me lying naked in Edward's arms, but I was fairly certain he still understood the meaning to my question.

He huffed. "Do you want the honest answer, or the lie I tell myself?"

I giggled. "Lie to me."

"Man, I've fucked more she-vamps than I can count…but you're my first human since losing my humanity."

I snorted. "Ok, now tell me the truth."

"The truth is unimportant."

"Oh, come on. You know I was a virgin, so it's only fair that you tell me about your sexual history."

He growled a warning at me, but I called his bluff and waited for him to open up.

Finally he gave in.

"Fine…My sexual history?" he said as he thought about it for a moment. I smiled triumphantly, but I wasn't prepared for what he was about to say. "Well, I was married," he told me casually.

"Married?" I asked incredulously. "When…how?"

"Yes, as a human…the way many humans married back then."

"But I thought…" I let my sentence trail off.

"What?" he encouraged.

"Well, I thought you were kind of young when you were turned."

"I was. Twenty one."

I raised my brows. "That's older than I thought."

He scowled. "How old did you think I was?"

"I don't know…seventeen or so."

"Seventeen? You thought I was even younger than you? Wow, I'm kind of offended."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh stop. Just continue with your story…your _nonfictional _story," I said, emphasizing the part where I wanted only facts.

"Fine," he replied, obviously unhappy about going down memory lane. "Things were a lot different back then. There were a lot more people, and the cities were bustling with possibilities. Everything about that time was centered on growth - growth of the cities, growth of big business, and growth of one's family. It was normal to get married young, to start a family and work hard to support them. I was my father's only hope to pass on the family name because I was an only child, just like him. So I married my high school sweetheart, and that was it."

"No, that's not _it_. What happened to her?" I pushed.

He huffed, but then continued. "We actually grew up together. Our dads were best friends and had been planning our union since infancy. Luckily we actually liked each other…well, we did when we first got married anyway."

"What happened?"

"We both wanted a big family. She was one of five kids, and I just always wished I had a sibling; plus, you know, to carry on my dad's name and all…But she had something wrong with her…some kind of fertility issue and it changed her. She was bitter all the time, and took out a lot of that anger on me. I understood it, but fuck, it was still hard to take all the time. Then the Spanish Flu hit Chicago, and I got sick. She was already depressed, but when our family feared that I wasn't going to make it, she just lost it completely. Haven't seen her since."

"Wait…she just…disappeared?"

He nodded. "Her parents were worried that she went off and killed herself somewhere, but her body was never found. I don't remember much from that time because of the fever, but I do recall my mother telling me about it not long before I died…I woke up some time later like this."

"So…you don't know who changed you?" I asked.

"I didn't say that," he said evenly.

"So you do know?"

"I know, but that's an entirely different conversation."

"Okay," I said slowly. "What about after that…how many different females have you been with since becoming a vampire?"

He shook his head no.

"Wait, you haven't been with any…she-vamps, or whatever."

"Nope," he said carelessly. "I didn't take to immortality very well at first, and by the time I got the hang of it sex was the last thing on my mind. I really thought that part of me stopped when my heart did," he looked at me full of desire and rubbed down my body seductively. "But I guess I was wrong."

He kissed me and I kissed him back, but I still had a few more things I wanted to ask. "So…you've lived all this time…still missing your wife?"

His human life really didn't make a difference to me one way or the other, but perhaps some of it affected him more than he let on, which may have helped to explain some of the more confusing aspects of his personality.

He looked slightly amused by the question. "No. I actually didn't even remember her until that night I was telling you about my mother and the stars. A vampire leaves their human life behind when they turn. Family, friends, even spouses. Unless of course that love was something strong enough to carry through, and I guess mine for her wasn't. To be honest, we were more like siblings, in a way. We never had that whole…falling in love, singing birds and fireworks kind of thing."

"No passion?" I guessed.

"None. It was just…comfortable. Well, until she went crazy, that is."

"So…the human you wasn't a virgin, but vamp you was pure before me," I said jokingly.

"I guess you can say that," he said with an irresistible crooked smile.

I couldn't help but kiss him again, but then a more disturbing thought occurred to me, so I pulled back. "Hey, I'm not going to get pregnant with some strange angelic faced hybrid demon, am I?"

He laughed. "I hope not."

"I'm serious," I almost whined. "I know you're shooting stuff inside of me, and I'm worried about it."

The thing was, with the current state of the world, we didn't exactly have any contraception. No medicine to stop ovulation, and no way to make latex or rubber condoms. Everyone back home knew that if you had sex, you would get pregnant. It was a fact. But of course that was a good thing for our villagers. Anytime we created life and increased our population, it was something to be proud of…though I was fairly certain a demon child would not be viewed as anything but an abomination, that was if I could even survive such a thing.

Edward chuckled again. "Don't worry, it's not possible for us to conceive a child together."

"How do you know?" I asked, slightly panicked.

"Could a lion impregnate a house cat?" he asked with a straight face.

"I'm sure it could if the lion could fit it's dick inside the cat," I replied seriously.

Edward fell over in a fit of laughter. Real, true, honest, laughter, without a trace of sarcasm or arrogance. It was a mesmerizing sound, and made him appear more human than he ever had before. I could watch and listen to him laugh like that forever.

When his laughter finally slowed, he looked back at me and took a deep breath. "Oh, Bella, you are something else."

"You mean that in a good way, right?" I asked unsure.

He smiled and nodded while pulling me into him for a kiss. "A very good way… And I promise, you have nothing to worry about, and I know that because there is a vamp that's tried."

"Tried?" I asked confused.

"Tried to conceive children with humans," he clarified. "He was a scientist of sorts; he lived in Brazil, and several decades ago he began seducing women from the tribes there to experiment. None ever got pregnant, so to be sure he enlisted the help of five other vamps to be certain that it wasn't just him who couldn't conceive. None were successful, so it's not possible for you to get pregnant right now either."

"Right now? Will I be getting pregnant in the future?" I asked amused and slightly baffled by his choice of words.

"Well, naturally," he said plainly. "Eventually you're going to want a family…most human females do."

"And where will you be?" I asked, becoming slightly anxious. It was a hypothetical topic, but it still made me uneasy.

He shrugged. "Probably dead. Wolfboy over there still wants a fight to the death; he thinks about it every time I piss him off or make him feel inferior."

"And you think you can't beat him?" I asked, feeling like my chest was constricting.

"Of course I can beat him," Edward scoffed.

"Well why would you say that then?" I asked, hating the idea of either of them losing in that situation. I needed a way to convince Jake that it wasn't necessary, but I had no idea how.

"Just because I can win…doesn't mean I should," he said slowly.

"What?" I asked horrified.

"I mean, think about it Bella…I've lived my life…he's just a fucking kid."

I never thought I'd ever hear him talk that way. Not _Edward _- arguably the world's most pompous vampire…It was heartbreaking.

"Edward," I whispered.

"Don't!" he said, suddenly becoming angry. "Don't even fucking think about feeling sorry for me. If I would have known you were going to react that way I would've never told you."

"You thought I'd be ok with you saying you were going to kill yourself?" I asked with hot tears streaking down my face.

"Christ, Bella, what did you think was going to happen? That we'd just part ways after finding your brother, and everyone would be ok with that? I know where your village is. Those wolves won't rest until that knowledge dies with me."

"Let them not rest," I cried. "Since when do you care about their wellbeing anyway?"

"I don't, I care about yours!" he shouted at me.

I blinked a few times in shock, and then I reached for him, but he pushed my hand away and got up and began pacing. "Look, this is…fun. The most fun I've had in a long time, but it can't last. I've been walking this planet for over a century and I've done so much shit that I'm not proud of. I'm tired," he said unexpectedly. "I'm so fucking tired of living this half-life, and I don't want to do it anymore."

"So that's it then? That's why you went to my village in the first place? You found out about the wolves, or you smelled them, or something, and you wanted them to kill you? Why the hell did you ask me to bust you out of the fire dome if you were just looking to die?"

"I didn't…and I wasn't just looking to die; I stumbled onto the village accidentally. But the more I've thought about it since then, the more I'm sure about my decision. It's best for everyone. Hell, it might even give Jacob a little confidence. That poor mutt has one of the most pathetic minds I've ever heard."

I stared at him again, and then decided to approach the issue a different way…a way he could better understand. "Fine, we can both boost Jacob's confidence. You'll let him win, and so will I."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Well, you'll be dead…and I have no interest in anyone at my village so…I'll just give in to Jake's advancements. Why not marry him? I'll have a bunch of puppies and live Miserably Ever After."

"Damn it Bella, that's your decision. Do what you want after I die, hell, do whatever you want now. No one is stopping you."

_Fuck!_ I guess that didn't work. Maybe I didn't make it convincing enough.

"You know, I like the lying snarky Edward better than this cowardly one," I told him coldly.

"Cowardly?" he said to himself, rolling over the word in his mouth as if he was tasting it.

"Yes!" I shouted. "Giving up and letting yourself be killed is cowardly."

"You know, I really don't understand why you care so much. You're a fucking human. Humans are mortal and they die, so what difference does it make to you?"

"I...I…I don't know what difference it makes, it just does," I said bitterly, unsure how else to respond.

Edward shook his head slowly as if he was legitimately baffled that I cared if he died, and then he got up and began walking away.

"Where are you going?" I called after him.

"Hunting," he responded without turning. "Get some sleep, we still have a long way to go."

_Not long enough_ – I thought to myself. But maybe it would be long enough for me to think of a solution…something to convince him that death wasn't an answer for anything. How the hell was I supposed to live in a world where Edward didn't exist? The answer was that I couldn't. I had been irrevocably altered by him, and there was no going back.

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****A/N: Aww, is Edward going soft? **_**- Don't count on it**_** ;) LOL!**

***So, no hybrid baby, and no virginal Edward. Sorry if you're upset on either point, but stick with me and you won't be disappointed! **

**Thanks for the support!**


	12. Challenge

Chapter 12 – Challenge

"Get some sleep…_right_," I scoffed as I tossed and turned on the hard ground, trying to get comfortable without Edward. He knew I had a hard time resting without him, so why would he even say something so ridiculous?

So I laid there awake for the next few hours; my muscles were exhausted from the combination of the daily hot nonstop walking and the nightly sex with a super strong vampire, but my mind wouldn't shut up long enough to allow me to sleep. I just kept thinking about Edward's confession, and every time I closed my eyes I pictured Jacob-wolf biting his head off.

It was just too much, and I couldn't take it anymore. The sun wasn't due up for another hour or so, but I was done waiting. I got up and walked over to Jake, and kicked him.

He didn't move. If anything, his snoring only got louder.

"Jake!" I shouted as close to his ear as I was willing to get.

Still no response.

Edward was right, he was useless while asleep; there was no way he'd ever know if trouble found us. So I did the only thing left I could think of, I poured water from my satchel in his face. He probably wouldn't have been bothered by that either, but some of it went up his nose causing him to snort it.

"What the hell?" he asked groggily.

"It's a typhoon!" I said with mock horror.

"Huh?" he asked confused while looking around at the dark emptiness that surrounded us. "Bella, what's going on?"

"Nothing, I just couldn't sleep and I need to talk to you while Edward is away….Damn, you know, you really are a heavy sleeper…like insanely heavy."

He grumbled something that I didn't care enough to try to hear, and then sat up and looked at me. "I use a lot of energy so it takes a lot to get me fueled back up. That, plus the fact that tiny stinking rabbits aren't enough nourishment for me when I'm used to entire deer…And don't get me started on this heat. My system just doesn't know how to function….Why, what do you need to talk about?"

"I've been thinking..."

"That's never a good thing," he cut me off with a snicker.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"What? It's not. The last time you thought about stuff, we ended up on a seemingly endless mission with a fucking bloodsucker."

"Whatever. Listen, I think we should let Edward go," I told him with forced casualness.

"What?" he asked confused. "I think I heard you wrong, I thought you just said we should let the leech go?"

"I did…and don't play stupid Jacob, we don't have time for that shit; he'll be back soon."

"Fine, sorry…but you are kidding, right? You can't honestly want to just let the thing go?"

"Well, it's not like we're really imprisoning him here with us," I said suggestively while looking around at the Edward-less terrain. "I'm talking about afterwards…after we get Emmett. We need to let him go, and you need to not fight him."

He scrunched his face in angry disapproval. "I _can_ beat him, Bella."

I had to fight back another eye roll. Edward was right on another point - Jacob was just a child whereas he had over a century of life experience - Jacob didn't stand a chance…_not that I needed to make that point right then_. "I'm not doubting you, Jake, that's not what I'm saying. I just…He's our friend, and obviously he isn't a threat to humans."

"How do you know that?" Jake asked sourly. "And who says he's our _friend?_"

"He_ is_ our friend, and I know he's not a threat because he's not. He didn't kill me, or anyone in Texas or at our village. Besides, later on...if he ever changed and wanted to go back to snacking on people, he'd just go to Texas instead of risking his neck in Washington with the wolves, so we have nothing to worry about," I said in a rush, but realized how bad that sounded at the same time.

Jacob looked at me unsurprisingly unconvinced. "Bella, whether you want to admit it or not, he _is_ a danger to you because you're a human. Let's not forget what we're dealing with here. He's a vampire; a soulless killer who just happens to be sustaining for some undetermined reason. I'm sorry, but it's only a matter of time before his head is detached from his body," he said evenly.

And then I got mad. "You know what, your noble devotion to someone who will never love you back is starting to get old!" I shouted at him. "I don't need you to prove your toughness when we both know you're not; in fact, you may be a danger to yourself. You're just…_pathetic_!"

I regretted the words the moment they left my mouth. Jacob wasn't pathetic; he may have been slightly delusional, but not pathetic. He was a good friend; the kind of guy that would risk his life for someone, and he didn't deserve my cruel outburst. I wasn't even exactly sure what I was talking about.

"Jacob, I'm sorry," I said sincerely. "I didn't mean that."

"I think you did," he said quietly.

"No, look, I'm just…stressed, and I took it out on you. It's no excuse, and I really am sorry."

"Bella, I told you, I understand that you don't want to be with me, but that's not why I'm here….I'm here because you're my friend and it's my job to protect humans. Do you know how hard it was for me to leave Austin knowing vamps go there every night to pick one off? Sure they were all lunatics, but it goes against my very nature as a shape shifter. And every moment of every day, all I want to do is take Edward out. It's not even a choice; it's an instinct that I constantly have to fight. I can't let him go. Even if you and I trust him enough right now, we won't live forever and he…A hundred years from now he may have a change in diet and decide to return to our home. Do you want to risk our descendants' lives?"

"You don't age," I argued.

"I don't want to live forever either. A few years after I marry, I'll stop phasing."

"I understand what you're saying, but I just can't let you kill him," I told him strongly.

"Well it seems we're at an impasse, so we'll just have to talk about it later; we still have a long way to go."

"Exactly!" Edward said unexpectedly from behind us while dropping a large drained deer-like animal at our feet. "So power up and let's run a ways."

I wasn't sure how much he heard of my and Jake's conversation, but he didn't comment on it and neither did I. It wasn't worth the argument, especially since our time together could be drawing closer to the end.

"Uh…I thought we needed to take it slow through Texas?" Jake questioned.

"Nah, let's just run through it and make it to Louisiana by sundown."

"Louisiana?" I said with a gulp. Our vampire history classes in school talked about Baton Rouge as if it was one of the biggest vampire hotspots in the country. It was the sight of the first human massacre. They had come out of the swamps like monsters from some horrible black and white movie…not that I'd ever seen one of those. It was just one of the last places I ever hoped to visit.

"Don't worry about it, pup," Edward told him, proving that Jake was having similar thoughts as I was. "The humans there were the first to be wiped out so the vampires had no reason to stay."

"Yeah…I'm not worried," Jake tried to play it off as if Edward couldn't read his mind.

"I'm _not_ leading you into an ambush," Edward responded to another of his thoughts.

"Jake," I chided him.

"There's nothing you can say to get me to trust him completely," Jake reiterated unashamedly. "Do you know what happened to the lion tamer that trusted his lion? He was eaten."

"That's a good analogy, Bella," Edward cut in. "You should listen to him."

I just rolled my eyes…at both of their comments.

"Besides, vampires aren't what I would worry about in Louisiana," Edward said casually.

"What? You think we'd be afraid of a couple of alligators?" Jake asked with a laugh.

"No, but I'd definitely fear the Tainted Keitre."

"What the hell is that?" he asked confused.

"You may have heard it called by the name Letiche."

Jacob's face immediately fell. "That's just an old folklore," he said absently.

"Sure it is…just like vampires and werewolves."

"Oh, shit," Jake mumbled.

"What, what is it?" I asked, completely lost in their conversation.

"Swamp Monster," Jake finally said. "It's this horrid creature that stands seven feet tall and is a mix between a gorilla and an alligator with blazing yellow eyes."

I stared at him for a minute, and then started laughing.

"Bella, it's not funny, it's been known to eat people," Jake told me.

"Oh, come on. I took the monster class in school and I never heard anything like that," I told him.

"No, they're real," Edward told us. "I've seen them."

"Them?" Jake asked nervously.

"I imagine they're not much different than the Yeti or Sasquatch. Living in family pods and whatnot," Edward explained. "They are pretty strong. I knew of one that knocked a vamp's arm right off. It was awesome."

"Yeah, they sound great," Jake said sarcastically.

After we ate our fill, Jacob undressed and phased, and I climbed onto Edward's back. Jake was obviously unhappy about my choice of transportation, but I really didn't care.

"Take one deep breath, and when I begin to run keep your head down with short shallow breaths," Edward reminded me.

"I got it," I told him.

Jacob took off running, but before Edward could follow I pulled his head to the side and stole a kiss. He smirked at me, but then jerked his head, gesturing for me to hold onto him, and we were off.

It was nowhere near as nerve-wracking as the first time I rode on Edward's back, in fact, it was almost exhilarating.

We stopped every couple of hours or so just to take a breather, get drinks, and relieve ourselves if necessary. By nightfall, the desert had transformed into swampland and despite the continued heat, the surrounding trees and greenery made me feel a little more at home.

"Did you see that bug that just flew by? It was the size of a small bird!" Jacob exclaimed.

I slapped my neck as I felt something crawling on me. "Damn, it bit me," I said to myself.

"No fair," Edward complained with a sinister grin. _God, he was beautiful. _

"Why don't you go find that 'squito and eat it…It'll be the only way you ever taste her blood," Jacob sneered.

Edward didn't respond other than a quiet mischievous chuckle, and it took every ounce of will power I had not to laugh as well. If Jacob knew about us and the fact that he had tasted me more than once, there would be no way I could convince him to back down…he'd probably fight him out of pure jealously.

I bit my tongue and decided to survey our surroundings. The ground below us was moist and squishy, and I had to wonder where the hell we were going to make camp for the night.

"So…this looks comfy to sleep in," I said as I lifted my shoes out of the mud.

"There are a lot of abandoned cottages out here, we'll find somewhere for you to sleep," Edward told me.

And it wasn't long until we came across a rickety old cabin, complete with a holey roof and a snake infestation.

"I'll get them all out," Edward said as he went through the place to remove all the snakes and other disgusting creepers.

"Just check for signs of the swamp monster!" Jake called in after him. When Edward gave the all clear, Jacob took one of the cots in the back of the cabin, not giving two shits about the bugs; then again, I doubt any little pesky creature could sink their tiny fangs into his rough skin anyway.

"I'll make sure nothing gets on you," Edward said sweetly. _Who would have thought Edward could ever be sweet._

"Thanks," I said with a grin.

I was just about to lay down on the couch in the front room, when suddenly Edward's head perked up and he stilled.

"What is it?" I asked concerned. "What do you hear?" I wasn't nervous about any swamp monster, but a few lingering vamps would have really ruined the evening.

"Not hear," he said slowly. "Smell."

My eyes grew wide as I watched him go across the room towards a little door, and open it. "Well, hello there," he said casually before closing the door again just as casually.

"What is it?" I asked, no longer nervous, just curious.

"Nothing, just try to get some sleep."

"Edward, what is it?" I asked as I got up and went to the door. He looked like he was considering whether or not to stop me, but let me open it regardless.

"Oh, my god!" I said horrified. Inside was a bathroom of sorts, and there was a decayed corpse lying in the tub.

"Did vampires kill him?" I asked after I took a minute to collect myself. "Or…a swamp monster?"

"There's no way to tell. People die, Bella. It's a fact of life, and if no one is around to bury them, their bodies are left out to rot."

"Well, we should bury him," I said, feeling tears building in my eyes. Death was a huge part of the world, and when people died in my village, they were burned…But for whatever reason, I felt for that poor lonely person and thought a burial would be best.

Edward humored me and was able to quickly dig a hole in the earth, and he didn't even flinch as he carried the corpse out of the house and into the hole…but I suppose a dead body wouldn't bother a vampire.

"We should say something," I told Edward as we stood over the fresh grave site.

"Like what?" he asked baffled and maybe even a little disturbed.

"I don't know, something," I said just as clueless. "Have you ever been to a funeral? Back when you were a human, I mean?"

He nodded. "My grandmother…But I was a kid, so I hardly remember it."

"Well, I have never been to one," I told him suggestively. "And something has to be said."

He let out an irritated huff, but then sucked it up and tried. "Here lies…Dusty. He was an angry bitter old hermit that died the way he wanted to – _Alone_. Accept his body into the earth, and let the worms eat what's left of his rotted carcass. Amen."

I nodded slowly. "That was beautiful."

"Yeah, I thought so."

I couldn't help but giggle at him despite myself.

"So…what now?" he asked me after a moment.

I shrugged. "I guess we…or _I _should get some sleep."

He nodded. "Come on, let's go inside."

But the creaky old cabin still gave me the willies, and sleeping wasn't going to happen.

"We could always fuck," Edward said casually, knowing me better than he cared to admit.

I smiled and then rolled over on top of him before leaning down for a delicious kiss. "Hold that thought," I told him with a grin. "I have something I want to do first."

"Oh, I have a feeling I'm not going to like this," he said with concern.

We got up, and he allowed me to pull him back out to the dark marsh.

….

"Ok, now pull back _slowly_ this time," I told him, emphasizing the part about being slow.

He did as I instructed and pulled back on the twine slowly, but he must have pulled back too far because he snapped the stick…again.

"Shit," he said to himself. "I really don't think this is going to work," he told me frustrated.

"Wait a minute, _Edward_ can't do something? What's the world coming to?" I said teasingly.

"Oh, I can do it," he said with a stubborn bout of determination. "If I can fuck a human without killing her, than I can sure as hell shoot a damn arrow."

"Well, let's see it then," I encouraged.

"Make the fucking bow, woman," he said resolved.

"Ok," I said with a triumphant grin. I picked through the broken sticks and twine on the swamp floor, and was able to quickly make another bow. Emmett had taught me well, and now, for whatever reason, I wanted to teach Edward. The moon was shining brightly above us, making a perfect setting for an unnecessary archery lesson, and I almost felt giddy. I was in my element again, and it was terribly exciting that Perfect Edward wasn't immediately perfect at something that came so easily to me.

"I still don't really understand the point to this," he said as he watched me sharpening the arrow stick with my pocket knife. "I mean, I can run faster than a little makeshift arrow can fly."

"That's not the point," I said, amused by his sour tone. He was just being bitter because he hated to feel inferior in anything; it was almost comical. "If not for survival, it can be for sport."

"A sport against whom?" he asked dubiously. "All the other bow wielding vampires? Maybe we can even have a tournament of sorts. And then we could get runners to chase after the arrows so we don't lose them. And invite other vampires from all over the world to a big bow and arrow Olympics."

"Okay, okay, that's enough," I said smiling but beginning to get annoyed by his ridiculous rant. "You don't have to involve anyone else with archery. It can be a sport against yourself….Or even just to give those poor animals a fighting chance."

He looked at me completely baffled with an expression that screamed _'why the hell would I give fucking animals a chance?'_. It was actually quite amusing.

"Oh come on, just humor me," I told him.

"Bella, humoring you is the _only_ reason I would ever do this," he said seriously.

"Good," I said with a grin as my face was suddenly devoured in heat. He smirked at me, but it wasn't in a sarcastic way, it was almost strangely sincere, and the heavy moment that followed almost took my breath away. I wanted to attack him and forget all about what we were doing, but somehow I found the will to refocus and I finished putting the bow and arrow together.

"Ok, slowly and gently this time," I instructed him. I got behind him to help guide his movements, but he was just too tall so I dragged him over to where I could stand on a fallen branch. "Shoulder back, elbow up," I said as I ran my hand over his form, correcting it where he slacked.

I could feel my breath hitting his skin and returning to mine, except somehow it was sweetened and cooled by his momentary contact, turning my own exhale into a delicious breeze.

Apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed this little happening…

"Um, Bella, if you want me to be at all successful in this, you may want to stop breathing on my neck; you're giving me a fucking hard on and I can't really think about anything else," he told me casually, but his tone was laced with a very real warning.

"Sorry," I said with a little giggle.

I dropped my hands away from him and took a step down so he could concentrate better. He pulled back carefully with such precision that I knew he wasn't going to fail again. He let go and the arrow zoomed away in beautiful perfection, tearing through the bark of a tree over 2000 yards away.

"Wow," I told him with honest amazement. "I never saw an arrow go so far, especially not one without an arrowhead."

He shrugged arrogantly. "I don't think there's much I can't do."

I smiled fondly at his ridiculousness, and then a dark thought that was far too appealing passed through my mind, and I just had to voice it. "Well, Mr. There's Nothing I Can't Do, why don't you really challenge yourself and fuck me."

"That's not a challenge anymore."

"Yes, but this time I want you to have a little taste…without making me pass out."

He stared at me completely dumbfounded.

"Oh, and you have to do it somewhere that Jake's not going to see," I added quickly before biting my bottom lip to try to conceal my excited smile.

When he continued to stare at me in shock, I looked at the sky above us and then back at him. "We better get started if we're going to have time to finish before sunrise. Come on, prove to me just how good you are," I challenged him.

He blinked a few times before a look of sinister lust flooded his eyes….And then his lips moved as he appeared to lick his teeth. "You have to be the craziest chick I've ever known," he said darkly.

I shrugged. "Well I guess you'll just have to stick with me a while longer to see just how crazy I can get."

He let out a low growl from deep inside his chest, but unlike his previous 'warning' growls, this one was an almost primal rumble of desire. It was intense, and sexy, and dangerous, just as Edward was.

In a flash he was entirely wrapped around me, kissing and nipping at every exposed inch of flesh, but he was careful not to break the skin; that he would hopefully reserve until the end.

I didn't want to lie on the disgusting swamp ground, so somehow we ended up on the roof of the cabin, though I was slightly worried about the stability of the thing.

Our clothes disappeared and I wasn't even sane enough to be concerned for their care; if I had to be naked until we found some new clothes, I'd deal with it.

My legs automatically locked around his hips, and he pushed in to me with delicate eagerness, reigning in his demonic strength just enough to not tear right through my fragile human tissue, and just for a moment I wished I could experience being a vampire long enough for him to fuck me as hard as he needed. I wanted to feel him inside of me even deeper than my cervix would allow, and I hated feeling like a prisoner in my own weak body.

His face was tightened into tense pleasure as he continued to thrust into me, but he was in control of himself enough to let me push him over so I could take a turn on top. He bucked his hips upward, enhancing my movements as I felt the humming high consume me. My head fell back as we continued, and his lips found their way back to the skin on my throat. So I knotted my hands into his hair and braced myself for what was to come.

But he didn't bite down.

He just continued urging my movements; up and down, back and forth, every which way we could go.

I could feel it building. The sensation was racing to the top of the peak and in mere moments I'd be falling over the edge…but I didn't want to fall….I wanted to jump with a fucking jet pack.

"Edward, bite me!" I nearly shouted.

"No," he grunted, refusing to expose his teeth. He was far too stubborn for either of our own good.

"I'm not kidding, do it!" I yelled at him.

"I just got the hang of this," he argued roughly.

"Just control it!"

He moaned something unintelligibly, and then I vaguely heard him mumble – "What the fuck."

He spun us so that he was on top again, and then his teeth sunk into the cleavage of my left breast sending an electric jolt of searing pain right to my core…making my climax that much more intense. It was absolutely insane, but the single most exhilaratingly amazing sensation I had ever experienced. His teeth stayed in my skin through the orgasm, and he released me just as the pulsating afterglow haze coursed through my entire system.

I never blacked out, and he never lost control. It was truly a sexual act between two beings that had nothing to do with a predator and his prey. He didn't bit me out of bloodlust, and I knew we would both emerge more trusting and satisfied with ourselves and each other.

He pulled out of me slowly, savoring every last second of our connection, and I couldn't help the slight whimper that escaped when we were officially detached.

"Does it really hurt?" he asked, showing the most amount of concern I had ever seen from him.

"What? No," I said, not even really feeling the small wound on my chest….well, there was a new cool spot on my scorching hot skin, but that was actually a good thing. It was probably never the pain that caused my previous blackouts, it was the loss of blood or maybe shock. Even when I had asked for it the last time, the specific feeling of it had been overwhelming - something that I must have come to expect since. "I'm perfect, actually," I told him as I reached up and pushed his hair off his forehead. "You have sex hair," I told him with a chuckle.

"You're not in pain…from this?" he asked, tracing the fresh-already sealed double crescent lesion.

"No…But would it go to your head too much if I said that everything about that was amazing?"

He smiled and I could actually see him relax into his normal cocky state. "It may."

"Well, do we have time to do it again before sunrise?" I asked eagerly.

The sky was already beginning to lighten with the first signs of dawn, but after looking around us for a moment, he said – "We can make time."

I giggled as his lips reattached to mine in what I was sure was the most incredible round two anyone had ever experienced…


	13. Jealousy

A/N: Another quick update! Many people have been waiting for this chapter, and so have I...I hope it's worth the wait ;)

* * *

Chapter 13 – Jealousy

Just as Edward and I were completing round two, the roof finally gave way and we fell through, right into the living room.

"Shit," I said quietly as we laid there in shock amongst the rubble.

"Are you ok?" Edward asked me, looking over my body for any signs of injury.

"I think so," I told him while moving my limbs to see if anything hurt.

"Fuck, that was stupid of me," he mumbled. "I knew it wasn't stable."

"It was fine…we just need to find our clothes," I said, realizing that we were still naked and surely Jacob had to have awoken from_ that _crash.

Edward perked his head up, and then we were moving quickly through the trees. When we finally came to a stop, I looked at him questionably.

"Pup was about to come out," he explained. "Don't worry, he's going to search in the debris for a while thinking you're buried. Look, I saved our clothes," he said excitedly while holding up the dirty shreds of fabric.

"Yeah, you saved them alright," I said sarcastically.

"Just hurry and put them on, I have an idea."

I did as he said and got dressed, but despite the fact that my shirt was ripped and my pants were riddled with holes, I was covered enough so he whisked us back to the cabin. Jacob had been calling my name while moving boards to find me, but he glanced up when the door opened and immediately looked relieved.

"Don't worry, I got her," Edward said while setting me down on the ground.

"How'd you get out?" Jake asked as he looked me over. "Are you hurt?"

"Um…no, my clothes just ripped as he pulled me out," I lied quickly. It didn't really make sense and questions were plastered all over Jake's face, but he didn't voice them. Even if he suspected something, he'd never allow himself to believe it. He knew I came from a vampire loathing family and to cross a line like that would be a betrayal of the worse kind…at least in his opinion.

"Well, I'm glad you're ok…I wonder what made it cave in?" Jake asked as he looked around.

"I don't know, maybe Dusty never made repairs," I said absently.

"Who's Dusty?" Jake asked confused.

"Oh…we found a body in the bathroom over there," I explained, figuring that was a safe enough divulgence.

"You found a body in the bathroom?" he asked confused. "I didn't smell anything. Decaying bodies are usually overwhelmingly disgusting to smell."

"The body wasn't decaying, it was _decayed_," Edward clarified. "It had to have been there a long time; besides this place wasn't exactly sealed…I'm sure the stench was mostly gone years ago."

"Mostly?" Jake asked.

"Well_, I_ still smelled it…but then again, vampires have better senses than dogs."

"You wish," Jake sneered.

"I think I just proved it," Edward said unfazed. "I smelled it, and you didn't, so there you go."

Jake glared at him, and Edward smirked at whatever Jake was thinking. Both of their expressions disturbed me.

"Ok, since we're all up, let's head out," I said, hoping to get them to stop their combative thoughts.

"So, how far are we going today?" Jake asked. "I don't think I can run all day again."

"We're not far from Florida now, we should get there in a couple of days walking," Edward told us.

"Good," I said, mostly to myself. We began walking, but the way that my shirt was ripped was really beginning to bug me so I tore off the bottom portion exposing my abdomen, which only made the two monsters look at me with surprised lust. Edward was quickly able to get past my uncovering, he had seen me much more naked than that, but then he turned and shot Jake a deadly glare, obviously unhappy about whatever he was thinking.

Without warning, Edward shoved Jake to the side.

"Oww! What the fuck?" Jake yelled at him.

"I don't want a fucking visual of your desires for Bella," Edward fumed.

"Don't listen or _watch_ my mind then," Jake argued.

"Jake," I chided him with embarrassed irritation. I knew he still had feelings for me, but damn, he needed to try to forget them or at least control them.

"I can't help my thoughts!" he said defensively.

"Whatever," I said before continuing to walk, taking the lead for once. I had a feeling the guys were still giving each other vicious dirty looks behind me, but I refused to say any more about it. I was unofficially with Edward so I understood his territorial jealousy, but Jake was just a harmless kid so I really didn't care about his teenage horny thoughts either. They could handle it themselves as long as it didn't turn physically violent.

When the sun reached the highest point in the sky, we came upon what looked like a small abandoned town, but anytime there were structures of any kind, we needed to be cautious.

"Let me scope it out first," Edward told us, leaving Jake and me to hang back and wait for him to return.

"So, are you really ready for this?" Jake asked me, but kept his eyes scanning the area in case of trouble.

"Ready for what?" I asked, unsure what he was referring to.

"Florida."

"Oh…Well, I want to get to my brother….but there's so many uncertainties. I mean, we need to come up with a game plan, and I need to be able to figure out if Em has any babies on the way."

"So…we might be leaving with a pregnant woman as well," he asked, unsurprised but just making sure we were both on the same page.

"Edward hasn't really explained how the mating colony works, but I imagine they'd have a male impregnate _multiple_ women," I told him.

"Oh…I guess that makes sense," Jake agreed. "Shit, this is going to be hard," he said with a huff. "How the hell are we supposed to just take the few humans we came for, and leave the rest to eventually get eaten?"

I sighed. "I don't know. It's just horrible, but I don't know what else to do."

"It's safe," Edward said as he walked back over to us. "There are a few old trails, but no one's been here for a while."

So we walked through the town, but as we passed by an old grocery store, we decided to go in to see if there was any kind of food we could eat that wasn't spoiled.

Everything inside was thrown about and covered in dirt, but there was definitely food of sorts still lying about.

"Twinkies!" Edward shouted at us. "I heard these things last forever."

Jacob took the dirty box from Edward and looked at the label. "Cream filled cakes… Hmmm, I don't know what cakes are, but its good enough for me," he said as he opened the packaging and shoved one in his mouth. "Holy Shit! Bella, you have to try these!" he shouted at me.

"What are these things?" I asked while holding up a silver cylinder container with a picture of vegetables on the outside.

"Canned food. That doesn't spoil either," Edward told me.

Most of the stuff was indeed, rotten, but the stuff that was edible we shifted through and ate things that we would have never been able to taste back home. It was incredible…all the options people lived with before their world ended. And the idea of just going to a store when you ran out of something was beyond mindboggling – I couldn't even imagine such a luxury.

When we ate our fill, Edward found these odd packs that we could wear on our backs to fill with more food; it was too bad that store didn't have a change of clothes.

"Hey… do they have soap here?" I asked hopefully. Edward ran off and found some, so we searched out bottles of water and I was able to wash my hair and body off…it wasn't the best, but much better than I was before. Jake also cleaned himself to the best of his ability, and then we decided to get back on the road.

"Hold on," Edward said to me, putting something that I didn't see into my pack.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Tampons," he said casually. "You're close, I can smell it coming."

I scrunched my face in confusion. "What's a _tampon_?"

"They're for your menstrual cycle," he explained, so I figured they must have been a disposable pad of some sort - another luxury we didn't have back home. Most women didn't have long or heavy periods due to the fact that our nutrition wasn't consistent, but when we did bleed, we used thick cloths that we had to wash and reuse as often as necessary. Nothing about it was easy or convenient. People really were spoiled back before the vampire takeover.

"Wait, you can smell her cycle coming?" Jake asked disturbed. "Is that going to make you go all…crazy with bloodlust?"

Edward snickered darkly. "You forget dog, I was around before the takeover…I blended in quite well with humans and I know how to control myself around menstruating women…Besides, it doesn't smell exactly the same as regular blood."

"Well, ok…but how about the people at the mating colony? I mean, how will we get in and out of there undetected if she's going to be so easily smelled?"

"Actually, it may work to our advantage. It is a mating colony, so female cycles are part of it. I can tell them that I've captured her from the wild and she'll be ready to breed in the next couple weeks. It will allow us access."

"And what's my part?" Jake then asked, obviously not liking the plan whatsoever.

"I think you better just wait outside unless we need backup," Edward told him.

"What the hell?" Jake responded. "There's no way I'm letting Bella in there without me."

"Jake, Edward's right. How is he supposed to explain you to the guards?" I told him.

"The same way he explained me to the guards in Phoenix. Why can't I be his pet in Jacksonville too?"

"It didn't work last time, they were suspicious. You drew too much attention. You need to just stay outside and keep your dog ears perked for any signs of danger," Edward insisted. "Besides, we'll probably need your help more as we try to escape. The run across country with two or more people is going to be a lot harder than it was with just Bella."

"Fine," Jake relented with a huff.

We arrived at the western most tip of Florida by sundown, and we made what would hopefully be the last camp until we would reach the mating colony in Jacksonville. Like clockwork Jake was out quickly, and Edward and I went right into our midnight rendezvous.

We weren't in a forest, but it was a lovely overgrown park with lots of greenery and trees to play with, so Edward had climbed us up to a sturdy branch and we had way too much fun, thirty feet above the ground. We decided to leave our clothes mostly on just to avoid another instance like the cabin, but it still wasn't long before I was begging him to bite me again.

I really didn't know why I got off on it so much, but I did, and I was certain that when he did leave me permanently, I'd never be able to move on. How could a mortal man ever fulfill those desires; how could anyone but Edward make me feel so incredible? The answer was simple, they couldn't. I had been completely ruined when it came to potential sex with a human, and I was actually concerned about what that meant.

Even if I convinced Jacob not to fight, and even if I found a way to get Edward to not wish for death, he would eventually get bored of me. I'd get old and ugly, and he'd find something else to busy his time with….and I'd be alone. It was a future that was painfully bleak, but the only alternative wasn't even something I'd consider. No matter how much I wanted to stay with Edward, I'd never want to become what he was. I refused to ever be a vampire – it was a fate worse than death.

It was an impossible situation with no solution in sight, so I decided not to worry about it at the moment. My biggest concern right then was saving my brother and getting out alive, everything else would have to wait.

After we were finished, we pulled our pants on and jumped out of the tree, but before I could even collect myself, Edward pushed me against the trunk and reattached his lips to the spot on my shoulder where he had just bit into moments before. Just like the healing wound on my chest, it was concealed under my shirt line so it was a perfect spot, and all he had to do was pull my shirt down slightly to reach it. It was still tender, but the moment his tongue touched the area, electric pulses raced through my entire body, sending me into another fit of desire.

My hands tangled into his perfect hair as I pressed my groin into his, but his lips didn't leave my shoulder, and then…

"What the fuck is going on?" I heard Jacob's voice from behind me. I quickly peeked back around the tree I was against, and saw Jacob looking absolutely horrified and beyond pissed.

_What the hell was he doing awake?_

I risked a glance back at Edward, and he was actually smirking…_The fucking vampire was smirking._

I pushed away from him and turned to face my best friend. "Jacob, I can explain," I said slowly, even though I had no idea how the hell I was going to explain that.

"Explain?" Jake seethed. His body was trembling with fury as he tried to keep his wolf from erupting out of him. "Yes, please explain…cuz it looks like he was sinking his fangs into you."

"Uh," _shit._ "It's not what you think...I wanted him to do it," I said, but that only seemed to make him angrier. "He never drinks enough to even change his eye color," I said in a rush, only seeming to make things worse.

I looked to Edward for help, but his smirk only grew. "Sorry pup, those mosquitos weren't enough for me," he said mockingly, and that did it.

Jacob's clothes shredded off of him as he exploded into his wolf, and immediately charged Edward.

"No, stop!" I shouted as I got between them. Jacob paused, not wanting to hurt me, but Edward was far too excited by the turn of events, which really pissed me off. If I wasn't so concerned about Jake, I probably would have tried to smack that smirk right off of his pompous face. "Listen, ok, he didn't do anything I didn't ask him to do," I tried reasoning. "I wanted him to bite me…I wanted him to…well, I just wanted him," I admitted reluctantly.

Jacob was snarling and baring his fangs, but then he slowly walked two steps closer to me, and like the dog he was, he actually lowered his head and sniffed my crotch. I knew right away what he was smelling; hell, I was only surprised he didn't smell Edward's scent on me there before. He didn't touch me, but I pushed his snout away regardless.

Then he did something strange, he whimpered and howled up at the sky; it wasn't the sound of hatred I was expecting…it was grieving. He was obviously beyond shocked and heartbroken, and I felt like utter shit.

Suddenly his sadness ended, and the expected rage took back over. Once again he charged Edward, except this time Edward pushed me aside and refused to let me get in the way of Jake's attack. I didn't even have time to scream before I saw the wolf launching himself at Edward…It was my nightmare come to life and everything seemed to be in slow motion, and yet I couldn't move fast enough to stop it.

When they made contact, the boom was like thunder and I honestly believed it would end with Edward's head in Jacob's teeth. My heart topped momentarily, but I was absolutely stunned when I saw the wolf fall limp to the side and land on the ground with a giant thud. Edward had knocked him out with one swift punch to the jaw.

Relief overwhelmed me. Edward was still standing. But that relief didn't last long because Jacob didn't get back up…in fact, he stopped moving altogether.

"Oh my god," I gasped. I slowly stood, because I couldn't move any faster, and then I walked over to Jacob's massive form. "Jake," I said, terrified. I bent down and tried to feel for a pulse, but his big hairy body made it too difficult to locate. "Is he dead?" I asked Edward feeling numb.

Edward laughed once. "He only wishes he was."

I noticed then that his giant chest was still moving up and down slowly, so I relaxed just a little and turned my concern into anger. "What the fuck, Edward?"

"You're mad at me? I was the victim here, he tried to kill me."

I glared at him, easily seeing through his lies for once. "You knew he was there. You knew he was awake; you must have heard his mind…You wanted him to see us."

Edward let his innocent mask melt off his face, and he looked at me with a darkness that was as beautiful as it was sinister. "At least he won't be holding out anymore hope. It didn't matter how many times you told him, he still hoped. Now, he won't."

"Edward, you could have killed him!" I yelled.

"Oh, come on, are you really concerned for his physical wellness, or his stupid emotions? He'll be fine. But that doesn't make you feel better, does it? You're just pissed because now that he knows the truth you won't have him as a fucking fallback."

"What?" I shouted exasperated. "You make zero sense, do you know that. I would never consider him a fallback for anything, and yes, I am worried about his emotional state, especially right now. We're about to go into another vampire infested area and now he's going to have to deal with the pain of this blow…both physically and emotionally. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that it's better to be honest than to lead him on…but I guess he was right after all, that you did have feelings for him that you refuse to acknowledge."

I huffed at the ridiculous claim, and wanted to yell more but decided on a calmer approach. "As I have continually stated in the past, I have zero romantic feelings for him. Period. I'm not lying to myself or anyone else. That's what you do, not me. He is my friend, and I love him like a brother. It is not my fault he doesn't feel the same and it's not something I can control. Why the hell would I be fucking you every night if I had even a twinge of attraction to him? Stop acting like a jealous moron. I trust you with my life and my heart, the least you could do is trust me in return."

He clinched his teeth. "Humans and all their 'heart' talk," he said unexpectedly. "Do you realize that the heart has nothing to do with emotions or decision making? It's just an organ that pumps blood throughout the body to sustain life."

I pressed my lips and was angered even more by the fact that heat consumed my face once again; why the hell was I embarrassed? "My heart comment is still accurate," I stated. "I trust you to not drain all the blood out of my system, thus making my heart pointless…You need to trust me in return. If I say something, I mean it. I'm not even a tiny bit in love with Jacob…But tell me something, why do you care anyway if you're just planning on dying soon?"

"I _don't_ care," he said, making his worst concealed lie yet. "But I was also sick of all his dirty thoughts about you, and now he won't have them anymore."

"UGH!" I yelled frustrated. But then a different thought occurred to me. "Let's get going," I said quietly.

"Without him?" he asked confused.

"Yes, without him. You said so yourself, he'd just be a danger to us in the city and I don't want him to get himself killed for me. If we leave now, maybe he'll finally be pissed enough to go home."

Edward narrowed his eyes at me. "Are you sure you want to risk being alone with me?"

"I'm not so sure of anything anymore," I said harshly. "I actually wish I was more concerned about it. Being afraid of you would be a lot more beneficial than being pissed at you and still wanting to fuck you at the same time."

He nodded. "True… Do you want me to try to scare you?"

"Oh, shut up," I said annoyed. "Is there any way to hide our scents so he can't follow us?"

"There's a river about a mile away. We can lose our trail in there….but he probably could still find the colony if he wants to."

I shrugged. "There's nothing I can do about that. Hopefully he'll just go home."

"Fine…let's go."

I checked Jake one more time to make sure he was still breathing, and then we left him there. I felt horrible about doing it, but I knew it was the right decision. Even if I managed to convince him not to attack Edward again right then and there, it would definitely happen….and I couldn't let it happen. I was absolutely maddened with anger towards Edward, but in the end I think he did us all a favor. I still wasn't willing to give him up, so that meant Jacob needed to go and that was probably the only way to get him to leave on his own.

* * *

*****A/N: **_**Oh Edward.**_** LOL!  
*In text chapter we'll arrive at the second mating colony. Will we finally get to Emmett? Hmmm, stay tuned to find out :) **


	14. Red

Rev 14 – Red

The closer we got to Jacksonville, the more vampire possessed structures stood. The buildings there weren't in ruins like everywhere else we visited, in fact, they almost seemed repaired, as if the vampires fixed them up for some unknown reason.

I wanted to question Edward about it, but there were too many vamps around, and I needed to play the part of imprisoned wild human, which was someone who would never ask their vampire capturer anything.

The plan was for me to be put into the system. I would be treated as any other human would who was brought there against their will…and then Edward would find a way to bust me out after I found Emmett. The entire plan actually rested on Edward's shoulders. If he decided to double cross me, or he failed in getting me out, then I would suffer the same fate as everyone else there – I'd be bred and later fed to a vampire.

I knew I wasn't going to get in and out of there right away, and with how big the place was, I realized it could be days, even weeks. As long as I was out by the time I ovulated, everything was going to be ok…at least that's what I had to believe.

"Halt!" a guard yelled as we walked up to what I could only assume was the mating colony gate. The entire place was actually bigger than the village back home, and like home, it was surrounded by a giant flaming wall. Obviously they didn't want vamps breaking the barrier and sneaking snacks. There were guards posted at the wall towers every quarter mile, and I couldn't help but gulp by the prospect of getting out. How the hell were we going to accomplish an escape from a place like that? "What's your business here?" the guard asked Edward.

"I'm a Cullen," Edward told him with authority while stretching out his arm so his brand could easily be seen. "I found this human wandering around the desert. She should be ready to be bred within the next couple of weeks."

"Wonderful," the guard said with faux kindness. "But if you don't mind, I'll need your name as well. Too many fake Cullens going around, you see. How they managed to replicate the brands, I have no idea."

"Um…my name is Edward," he said, letting his voice break in the tiniest amount of uncertainty.

"Edward what?" the guard asked.

"Since when do vampires have more than one name?" Edward asked with annoyed confusion.

"Since we started having too many with the same name," the guard deadpanned.

"Fine…My name is Edward Cullen," Edward said unexpectedly.

The guard looked at him like he was a moron. "Not your division, your last name!"

"Cullen is my last name. Carlisle is my father," Edward told him. "Run along and go check it out."

The guard scowled at him, but otherwise did as he was told and went to find someone to verify his claim.

I looked at him questionably, but he didn't return my glance, nor did he explain…not that he even could with so many guards hanging around watching our every move.

The main guard dude was back in a flash, but he wasn't alone.

"Well, as I don't live and breathe!" the new vampire on the scene said excitedly. "Edward fucking Cullen, how are you my friend?"

"Jasper," Edward said with a friendly grin. The two then did something odd. They bumped their fists together and then pulled their hands back with a strange exploding sound from their mouth_. What the fuck was that?_ The other vamps around looked confused by their interaction as well. "What are you doing here? I never thought I'd see you as a colony guard?" Edward asked his old buddy.

"Nah, I'm on special assignment. But enough about me, where the hell have you been all this time?" he asked as he strangely draped his arm around Edward's shoulders and the two began casually walking into the gate.

Edward glanced back at me, so the Jasper vamp told the other's to put me into the system, and I was whisked away.

I was so confused by Edward's behavior that I didn't even notice where I was being taken at first. But when I was brought into a strange looking room, I finally snapped out of my daze and forced myself to pay attention.

"This is going to pinch," a woman said emotionlessly as she began wiping my arm with something cool and wet, before jabbing me with a needle.

"Ouch!" I said, confused as to why she'd poke me with the thing. Back home we had needles as well, but they were only used for sewing up injuries, so it was safe to say I was confused. Then I saw my blood flowing into a clear plastic tube, and my confusion tripled. It wasn't until that moment that I realized the woman holding my arm was a human. "What's going on?" I asked her confused.

"We're testing your blood for diseases and/or infections," she explained vacantly. "If you are proven to be too unhealthy for breeding, you will be put into The Bank."

"The Bank?" I asked concerned.

"The Bank is where people are hooked up to an IV and slowly drained for the next several months to a year until their hearts give….Or perhaps you'll be put into the KN."

"What's the KN?" I asked her.

"The 'Kill Now'. The vamp leaders prefer to drink their blood straight from the vein, so they are given live humans to feed on - usually the uncontrollable ones that they can't keep chained to their beds in The Bank."

I shuddered. "So…why are you helping them…" I asked, and then noticed a nametag on her strange light blue shirt. "Gianna?"

She looked up at me with her dark brown eyes and smirked. "It's kept me alive this long. I'm just lucky I was picked to learn to test blood…most aren't so lucky."

I nodded. "Obviously."

"Of course, I've birthed four babies to the cause, so I'd say I've paid my dues," she continued.

I blinked once in shock. "Where are your children now?" I asked slowly.

"Probably being raised in the nursery…or eaten," she said indifferently. "There's a leader that's particularly fond of young blood."

"So…people here don't get to raise their young?" I asked horrified.

She shrugged. "Most don't live long enough to raise all their children."

I swallowed roughly.

"If you're lucky," she continued. "You'll live here for about five years, long enough to have a few babies, and then you'll be put into The Bank for several months or so, and then they'll allow you to die… Welcome to the colony," she said with a forced fake smile. "Once your blood work comes back, you'll either be taken to die or allowed to socialize. Enjoy your stay."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You're kind of a psycho, aren't you?" I asked her seriously.

"I've lived here since I was a child. What do you think?"

I nodded, actually feeling sorry for her, and then I was taken to get cleaned up. I was degradingly stripped naked, thrown into a shower of some sort, and sprayed down with cold soapy pressurized water. Then another human came and searched my hair for bugs before braiding it and finally I was given something to cover myself with. It was a strange thin stiff rip-able fabric that crunched when I moved and reminded me of the paper in the books at home. But the most confusing part was the fact that there was no way to fasten it and it hung open in the back exposing my bare ass.

"Um…I don't have any undergarments," I said to the woman walking past the room I was dressing in.

"You will be issued clothes after your examination," she explained coldly and then continued on her way.

"Examination?" I said to myself. _What the hell was going on?_

"Wow, a wild human," a different woman said as she breezed into the room… obviously a vampire. "We haven't had any wild humans in a while…I was beginning to think they were just about cleared out."

"Um…sorry," I said, having no idea what else to say.

"I think it's amazing that you've survived so long," she said with a strangely sincere smile. "Please lie back."

"Uh…okay," I said, and did as I was told.

"Feet in the stirrups," she instructed.

I had no idea what was going on, but I shakily complied.

"Honey, you really need to try to control your emotions," she said to me unexpectedly. "I know you must be terrified, but there's nothing you have to worry about right now and fear will only work against you."

I nodded, and tried to remember the way Edward taught me to bury my emotions. I took two deep cleansing breaths, and then I was back to feeling strong…and numb.

"Wow, good job," she said encouragingly. "I didn't even have to get Jasper."

"Jasper?" I said way too loudly while sitting up. "You know him?"

She giggled. It was a strangely sweet sound for a vampire. "Sure, he's my mate. I'm Alice, by the way."

It was terribly confusing that the vampire was introducing herself to me so warmly, I wasn't expecting that.

"I'm um…"

"Bella…yes, I know," she said with a smirk.

"Uh?" _How the hell did she know my name?_

"Feet in the stirrups," she reminded me.

"Oh sorry."

"I'm not really going to give you an exam because we both know you're not a virgin, but you have to keep your feet up there cuz they'll know if you don't."

"Who will know what?" I asked, struggling with my emotions once more. "And how do you know that I'm not a virgin?"

"Look, I want to help you…but I'm not exactly sure what's going on. Edward is so conflicted. In the beginning he was going to go to the leaders, and then he wanted to eat you, and now…." She let her sentence trail off. "Anyway. I guess we'll have to wait and see with this one."

"You know Edward?" I asked carefully.

"Sure…my brother," she said slowly. I was so confused. "Cullens," she explained vaguely while pulling up her sleeve to expose her Cullen Brand.

"Oh," I said, unsure if I should trust her a little more…or a little less. "And what's your extra ability?" I asked warily.

"I'm precognitive… I can see the future….Well, the projected path of one's future based on their decisions…and that's always been my issue with Edward. He knows this about me so I'm convinced he does it on purpose."

"Does what?" I asked slowly.

"Changes his mind," she explained as if it was obvious.

"Oh….right," I said, unsure of what else to say again.

"Anyway….you're searching for someone here."

I nodded slowly, still clueless if I should trust her or not.

"I'm not attuned to you enough to really see your future, but I got that much from Edward," she told me. "Actually, I'm not sure if I can see a human's future at all; I never have before…never tried. None of us really understood our father's fascination, especially Edward, he thought Carlisle was insane, which is why I'm really surprised he's hung around you so long. But hey, he's my brother so I'm going to help him whatever his motivations are."

"Um…ok," I said, completely baffled by her words.

"So….let me try to talk to Edward and see what's going on, and then I'll help you both any way that I can," she said with another smile, making her bright red eyes gleam like brilliant rubies. They were actually quite beautiful despite the fact they got their color from human blood consumption.

I nodded again, and then she smiled and went for the door. "Oh, FYI, I can smell that you're going to start your cycle tomorrow, so I have to mark that in your file. I'll have Gianna make sure you get as many disposable pads as you need."

_What the hell does FYI mean?_

"Um…I have tampons somewhere," I said, remembering that Edward had given them to me at the store.

She smirked. "Honey, you don't want to use tampons."

"Oh…why?"

"Because unless you have a woman to show you how to use them, they can be difficult. Trust me on this, don't follow a male vampire's advice on such things, they have no idea what they're talking about."

I nodded yet again.

"Well, nice meeting you Bella…I hope you survive a while here," she said with a grin.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

I was given a tan colored linen top with matching draw string pants, a pair of strange sandal-like shoes that made a flip flop noise when I walked, and then a red wristband that I couldn't get off even if I tried. And then I was shown to The Barracks.

Apparently I would be staying in a smallish room with all four walls covered by beds stacked three high. There were ten other rooms of the same fashion in that building alone, and I was certain there were hundreds of buildings on the colony, though I had no idea how many were sleeping quarters.

Everyone in my particular set of rooms was female and in their late teens and early twenties, and I had a sinking feeling that people didn't live much later than that around there. Oddly enough, I didn't see any pregnant women.

"Um…excuse me?" I asked a girl who had just come in to rest in her bed.

"Yes?" she asked, and I was stunned by her childish features. She didn't look a day older than twelve.

"Hi…I'm Bella….This is my first day here and no one's told me what I'm supposed to be doing."

"Are you the wild human they just brought in?" she asked excitedly.

"Good news sure travels fast," I told her sarcastically.

"I thought wild people didn't exist anymore."

"Well our numbers are dwindling," I admitted. "So, what's your name?"

"Bree," she said with a smile. "I was born here."

I nodded to myself. "That would make you…_not_ wild," I said with a wink.

"Exactly."

It was amazing to me just how happy the girl was, but then again if she never knew a different way of life the least she could do is make the best out of what she was given.

"So, how old are you Bree?" I asked her.

"Fourteen," she said. "This will be my first breeding."

My stomach churned. It was absolutely disgusting that the poor child was going to be forced into that situation, but there wasn't really anything I could say about it, so I decided to change topics. "Are we just supposed to wait here until they pick out a mate for us?" I asked confused.

Thankfully she took a few minutes to explain everything to me.

From what I understood, the babies and children lived in one area – The Nursery, as they called it, and when they were "of age" they were sent to The Barracks to live. All the females were given a wrist band which changed every week - red meant they were menstruating, yellow meant they were approaching their ovulation, and of course green meant they were ready to breed. A male could "claim" a female during the yellow or green phase, and once said female had been claimed, they were branded with the male's number meaning they belonged to him. Each male was allowed multiple females depending on how many were available. And he would then live with all of his claims until they were confirmed pregnant.

"Once we're pregnant, we get to move on to The Park until the birth," she explained excitedly.

"The Park?"

"It's supposedly this beautiful cluster of garden cottages in the center of the colony. I can't wait to go there. We don't have to do anything but relax, and we even get to eat whenever we want. After we give birth we get a few weeks of recoup time and then hopefully our male will want us to breed again, otherwise he sends us to The Bank."

She could tell by my expression that I wasn't sold on any of it, so she sighed. "Getting claimed by a male is all that matters. He'll take care of you until you're pregnant, and you need to do whatever possible to keep him wanting more."

"What happens if a male doesn't pick us at all?" I asked her, but I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

"We have four years from the time we first _come of age_ to find a male to belong to, if it doesn't happen in that time then we go straight to The Bank. You do not want to go to The Bank; the longest anyone has ever lived there is a year, and that's not a life. Trust me, you want to get a male to claim you and choose to keep you around for a few pregnancies… So you may want to think about making yourself a little more attractive."

I looked down at my body and wondered what she meant. I was dressed exactly like everyone else there, and my hair was pulled back in an identical long braid. How could I look any better? At least I was clean for the first time in a while.

"Tuck in your shirt and try to show off your form," Bree instructed. "Even if you're not ripe yet, the sooner you catch a male's attention, the better."

"How often do we see the men?" I asked, just trying to figure everything out.

"Whenever we want. We're supposed to sleep here, but a lot of women go to socialize and just automatically start the processes. They spend every moment they possibly can, trying to impress a male so they'll get claimed."

"I see….And where do they 'socialize'?" I asked.

"Oh, there's a warehouse where there's music, and strobe lights, and lots of snacks. It's a lot of fun…but they also have other recreational events; bowling, and basketball, and whatnot. Males like to see the females' athletic ability so they can choose who they want to mix their DNA with."

It was like she was speaking another language, and I tried to understand her as much as possible, but it was difficult. The entire thing seemed absurd and disturbing – How the hell did the vampires get their obscure view on the mating rituals of humans? Strobe lights…whatever that meant, and those sports that I vaguely had an idea about from old books, but I just didn't see the point to any of it.

Everything about that place was horrifically mindboggling. I didn't understand that Alice vampire, or the fact she claimed Edward was part of her family, and I sure as hell didn't understand the system…I only hoped I was able to find Emmett quickly and Edward was able to get us out.


	15. The Warehouse

Chapter 15 – The Warehouse

Apparently I wasn't allowed to 'socialize' during my period; I suppose it was their way to give the girls who were 'ripe' more of a chance to get claimed. So I had nothing to do but hang out with the other red banded girls in the barracks. We spent most of the time being bored - reading lame nonsense books and playing cards - but nothing was as bad as the disgusting gruel that we were issued twice a day.

"This is horrible," I said as I choked down my helping. It was a good thing that I was hungry; I sure as hell couldn't stomach it otherwise.

"It's got everything we need - protein, vitamins, calcium, healthy lean fats. Be grateful and shut up about it," Irina, a fellow red band, said to me snobbishly.

"I'm sure it's not as good as what you're used to in the wild," Bree said sympathetically.

I smiled at her, appreciative of her kindness. "Bree, you really don't have to hang out with me in here all day. You should be out…socializing, or whatever. You're a green band," I told her.

She shrugged. "I don't mind. I have four years to find a male… besides, you're my best friend."

"Um…thanks," I said, unsure how else to respond. I only met the girl the day before, but I guess it goes to show how innocent and lonely she actually was.

After my third day there, my period ended and I was given a yellow wristband and finally allowed to leave the barracks to search for Em.

Bree and I walked the grounds and she chatted my ear off about anything and everything, all the while I stayed on full alert as I scanned the groups of people we passed. She showed me the bowling alley and the outdoor rec center, as well as every other social meeting area that was available to us. It was all very strange, and I couldn't help but wonder what the hell the vampires were thinking to put all that crap there. I mean, I suppose it was good for the humans, but why would vamps care about entertainment for their food?

That evening we planned to do what everyone else there did when the sun went down…dance at The Warehouse. Just like the rest of the colony, I didn't understand it, but I didn't have much choice in the matter, so I just went with it.

"When we go to The Warehouse, we get to dress up!" Bree informed me excitedly.

"Dress up?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, come on, let's go find something great."

She grabbed my hand and dragged me to the common area of the barracks. There was a strange frenzy as all the women in the building were fighting over the odd brightly colored, slightly tattered clothes sprawled out on the floor, and I was left even more confused than before.

"Here, this will look great on you!" Bree said after she dove into the throngs of insane females, and then quickly reemerged with garments in hand. "I got my outfit too."

"Um…cool," I said reluctantly as we went back to the bedroom to dress. I continued to be clueless as I absently tried to figure out how to put on the ridiculous clothes – that is, if you could even call them clothes, they were more like scraps of previously used material sewn together just to cover areas of the body deemed private.

"You have it on backwards," Bree said with a giggle after I put on my top – or at least I had thought it was on.

I pulled my arms out and tried to turn the teeny, stomach revealing, hot pink top around so that the tie strings showed off what little cleavage I had. "What is the point to this?" I asked, rather annoyed by the entire situation.

"To attract males," Bree explained yet again.

"Um…these undergarments are missing the part that covers the butt," I said as I tried to figure out the bottom half of my new outfit.

"It's a thong…it's supposed to expose your butt," she explained.

"And where does this part go?" I asked horrified as I held up the thinnest string part.

"Between your crack," she said bluntly.

"How do you know all this if it's your first time?"

"They teach us how to dress for The Warehouse in Nursery."

"Oh." Her words made me nauseous.

When we were both finished dressing, she turned to me and took a step back. "Now, let me look at you." She started out smiling, but her face quickly dropped.

"What?" I asked concerned.

"Bella, what happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" I looked down at myself to try to see what she was talking about, and then I understood. I automatically covered the spot with my hand…or, _spots,_ I should say. "Um…"

"Have you been bitten…_a lot_?" she asked horrified.

"Uh…yes," I said hesitantly, unable to think of a good enough lie to explain otherwise.

"Oh my god, when…how?"

"Well, actually…it was the vampire who captured me," I said, somewhat accurately. "He snacked on me a bit on the journey here…But apparently he always sucked his venom back out because I'm still alive and human."

She looked at me completely horrified. "That must have been…I can't even imagine it. It's like my worst nightmare."

"It actually wasn't so bad…I think the idea of it was much more nerve-wracking than the actual bites were."

She shuddered, but in all honesty, the conversation just kind of made me a little horny. - _Head in the game, Bella._

There was nothing I could do about my bite marks, but Bree assured me that it would be dark in the warehouse so I shouldn't worry. And as it turned out, my clothes ended up being the bigger issue - as we were walking out of the barracks, my ultra-short skin tight skirt ripped down my upper thigh.

"Oh….well that's ok," Bree said encouragingly. "I think it actually looks better that way."

"Great," I responded while trying to quickly dig the thong out of the depths of my ass.

"They really are uncomfortable, aren't they?" Bree sympathized when she saw my action.

"Definitely."

I was practically naked and far too exposed, but as we walked amongst the other girls heading to The Warehouse, we were able to quickly blend in with the crowd; all of the women were dressed in that demeaning fashion.

When we got to our destination, I was absolutely floored. I had never seen anything like it and I found myself almost hypnotized by the drastic contrast between the dark room and the blinding laser lights…Less than two minutes later I was over it and wishing I could go back to the barracks. It was crowded, and loud, and the lighting quickly gave me a migraine. But if Emmett was still alive, he had to be in that building so it was time to find him.

Bree had told me we should stick together, but she jumped right onto the dance floor and began grinding on the first male crotch that was free. I just shook my head at her.

"Well, aren't you a peach," some idiot said as he checked me out. He actually walked in a complete circle around me to judge my body.

"Aren't you a piece of shit," I said, surprising both of us. I actually didn't plan on saying that out loud…not that I regretted it.

"You have a mouth on you too," the guy responded, actually seeming to be impressed by my insult. "I'd really like to see what that pretty little mouth can do."

"It would probably surprise you…as it bit your dick off," I told him threateningly.

"Whoa, Bella," Bree said, coming out of nowhere. She pulled me to the side and then tried to explain another aspect of the fucked up system there. "Many males will take a female for a test to see if he likes her enough to claim."

"A test?" I questioned, already knowing that I wasn't going to like what she was going to tell me.

"Yeah…you know….like if you use your mouth on him, it may help him decide if he wants you."

"Wait a minute," I said incredulously. "Not only do men get multiple claims, but they also get oral sex from random females? I thought they liked their claims to be virgins?"

"Using your mouth doesn't affect virginity," Bree said plainly.

"This entire thing is royally fucked up," I told her.

She shrugged. "Its just the way it is."

I shook my head at her again.

"Oh, hey, Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Um…do you see that vamp over there?" she asked while pointing at a particularly attentive dark haired male vampire standing in the corner. The room actually had several vampires standing around the perimeter; it was like they were chaperoning or even policing the people to make sure there was no one misbehaving. None of them seemed very interested in anything the people were doing, in fact, they all looked beyond bored…all but the one Bree pointed out. He was staring in our direction looking way too interested in what we were doing.

"Yeah, why's he staring at us?" I asked her.

"I'm not sure…I was hoping you'd know."

I shrugged. "You'd know more than me; I haven't even been here a week."

"Yeah but you traveled with a vampire for a while, right? I mean, why would one stare like that?"

"I really have no idea about vamp psyche. The vampire I traveled with never ceased to baffle me," I said honestly. "Just ignore him and I'm sure he'll get bored like the rest of them."

She nodded. "Yeah, you're right… I'm going to go back on the dance floor."

"Ok, be safe," I told her.

"Come with me."

"I'll meet you there later; I'm just going to watch for a while."

"Ok," she said with a smile before going back to grind on another random guy.

I began making my way across the room to restart my search for Emmett, but something made me look back at that strange vamp, and he was still watching me. I decided to give him a grimace and a slightly offensive hand gesture, and thankfully the nasty creature diverted his eyes.

I went back to my search, but the more I looked, the more hopeless it seemed. There were just too many people, and it was too loud and too dark. It was hard to even see the faces of the people standing next to me, and I still had no idea how the hell it was beneficial to courting potential mates.

I stood there in the middle of the crowd for a few long minutes, just feeling lost_. What the hell was I doing there?_ But then I suddenly felt someone grab me from behind…_well, it wasn't a grab as much as it was a grope_. The hands rubbed my ass and then followed my bare waist around to my front and immediately sought out my crotch. I would have been beyond pissed by the jackass's audacity, but I knew that pompous pair of cold hands anywhere, and I was abruptly thrown into a fit of unwelcomed desire.

"Where the fuck have you been?" I asked without turning around. Three nights without him was far too long, and I was actually slightly pissed that he didn't find a way to come to me sooner.

"Shh, I'm blending in with the humans," Edward murmured into my ear, just loud enough for me to hear him over the music. His breath rolled down my neck as his lips drew closer to my skin, and then contact. He kissed and nipped at my throat and for a moment I wondered if he was going to bite me…The thought sent an electric pulse of arousal right to my core.

"Fuck, I can smell how much you want me right now," he mumbled against my shoulder. "But I have to tell you, I really don't like this outfit you have on." He pressed his erection into my ass as his hands moved under my ripped skirt. "Do you have any idea how many pathetic humans have their sights set on you right now? You're like on fifty different desired claim lists."

"I wonder if they'd still want me if they knew I've already been _penetrated…_especiallyby a vampire…in more ways than one."

A low rumble came from deep inside his chest as he pushed his hand inside my thong and right to my sex. "You feel even better than you smell," he purred before slipping a finger into my moist opening.

I gasped at the feeling of his cold finger invading my warmth, and then my head fell back against his shoulder as my body begged him for more. He began moving his finger in and out of me, rubbing and caressing my sensitivity as my hips joined in and made the intimate act appear like nothing more than some dirty dance. We didn't stand out either, there were many on the dance floor moving in a similar fashion, making the room more like one big orgy than a dance hall.

It was too much.

I pushed his hand out of me, and then turned in his arms and planted my lips to his. Fuck, I wanted him, but a little finger action wasn't going to cut it, and if he continued that way I'd end up begging him to fuck me right then and there, which probably wouldn't have been the best thing.

"Take me somewhere," I told him between kisses.

"I have just the spot," he said before grabbing my hand and pulling me towards a back exit. The vampire guarding that door looked like he was about to stop us, but Edward threw up his arm exposing his brand and the vampire immediately backed off. I couldn't help but smile at his unapologetic power trip; his Cullen status was definitely beneficial and gave me a little more hope that he'd find a way to get us out of there.

He wrapped his arm around my waist, and with a couple little hops we ended up on the roof of the warehouse.

"It didn't end too well the last time we were on a roof," I reminded him.

"Don't worry, I checked this one for stability," he assured me before crashing his lips back onto mine.

For the next couple of minutes, we didn't do anything but kiss. We were all tongues and teeth, but it was strangely gentle and almost sweet. Neither of us tried to take it to the next level right away, we were just enjoying the feeling of being together again after our longest separation since we first met.

My hands were knotted in his hair, and his hands were securely around me, caressing the skin on my exposed back. It was nowhere near as hot as it was in the desert, but his cool touch felt so good that I would have been perfectly content staying just like that…but of course we both let our desires take back over soon enough.

I was already practically naked, but he wasn't satisfied so he removed my tiny articles of clothing as I worked on getting him just as exposed. God, I loved the feeling of his body pressed against mine. He was just so perfect that I wondered how the hell I managed to ever be near him without ripping off his clothes - Pretending to be indifferent was definitely going to get increasingly more difficult.

He kissed his way down my naked torso, and then spread my legs as far as they would comfortably go before continuing downward. When his lips touched my sensitivity however, I jolted from the unexpected feeling. He had never done that to me before, but as he continued to kiss and lick the various folds and tender areas, I wondered why the hell he had held out on me for so long.

"Gah, you taste so fucking good," he mumbled, sending vibrations throughout my entire body.

I reached down and ran my fingers through his perfect hair. "Too bad you missed my period," I moaned. I meant it as a joke, but it didn't sound like one because I was far too consumed by the sensation…and he didn't seem to take it as a joke either.

"We'll just have to get to that next month," he growled before moving back up my body, and thrusting right into me in one swift motion.

I gasped, but my breathlessness just added to the incredible feeling that was already starting to build deep inside me.

He began pounding into me, and just when I thought it may be too much, he eased off just a bit and left me wishing he'd go harder. I held onto him as if my life depended on it, and his grunts and moans teetered the line between pain and pure pleasure; it was hard to tell which were which.

After our climax reached the highest it had ever been, we slowed just long enough for me to catch my breath before he was thrusting back into me for an eager and almost desperate round two. We rolled around, taking turns on top, but when the second climax sucked out all my remaining energy, I just laid on my back feeling blissfully numb as he continued for a few more minutes.

When he was finally satisfied for the time being, he collapsed next to me and then pulled me over to lie on top of him.

"My limbs feel heavy," I said with a lazy laugh as I rested across his chest.

He lifted his head up to kiss my forehead. "That's because I fucked you into exhaustion," he said arrogantly.

"Is that what that was?" I mumbled, feeling like I was moments away from unconsciousness. I could still easily hear the music from below, and as much as I wanted to sleep, I had a few questions I really wanted to ask Edward first. "So…what the hell is up with all of this, anyway?"

"You mean the ridiculously shenanigans happening down there?" he asked casually.

"Exactly," I said, unsure if I really cared at the moment or not.

"Well, it wasn't always like that. The colony in Phoenix is completely different."

"Really?" I asked, suddenly more interested in the conversation than I thought I'd be. "What's that one like?"

"The vampires there randomly pick the human females for each male. There's no form of entertainment, or…slutty clothes…or even socializing. People are kept in big cages and rarely ever see the sky."

"So…why the change here?" I asked, actually surprised that vampires would care enough to make things better for humans.

"Well, I suppose they changed things because babies weren't being born very often. The males weren't attracted to their forced mates, and with the stress of the situation it was just practically impossible."

"Ok…so they tried to make things easier on the people," I tried to clarify. "But what's up with the loud music and bright lights?"

"When the takeover happened, nightclubs and such were how many young adult humans had fun and met potential mates. I guess the vampires in charge just figured it was the way to go…It's working though, there are hundreds of pregnant woman in The Park right now."

Thinking about the pregnant woman made me sick.

"Gah, everything about this situation is so horrible," I said, not really expecting a response.

"It could be worse…it was worse; at least they have a little bit of amusement in their lives now."

"I guess….You know, I never took you as an optimist," I joked.

"I'm just glad you're not still pissed at me," he said while moving his arms and folding them up behind his head.

"Well, I do wish you found a way to contact me sooner, but…"

"I meant over the whole Jacob thing," he said unexpectedly.

"Oh…" To be honest, I actually forgot about all of that. "Well, I am pissed…But I'm glad he's not hanging around anymore. This would not have been a good situation for him to be around, even if he was just waiting for us outside of the colony border."

"You know, you're not going to really be able to go home now though, right?"

"What…Why?" I asked confused.

"I'm sure Mutt is going back and telling everyone there about your trysts with the vampire."

I actually never thought about that, but Edward was right…How was I going to go home after that?

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked absently. I was actually not as upset about it as I should have been. Perhaps deep down I already knew I'd never go home, maybe that was the only reason I could endure things without fear. I never expected to live through that impossible mission, and being with Edward was just one more example of that. I didn't want to go back to my normal life and be forced to live in some loveless marriage. I wanted something different, something more, something that I could neither have with Edward, nor without him. But I would rather stay with him the way we were for as long as he would have me than go back.

"We'll probably just die trying to escape this place anyway," Edward said unconcerned.

"How can you be so pompous half the time, and then switch into pathetic martyr mode?" I asked irritated.

"I'm not in martyr mode, I'm just being honest."

"You're a Cullen; they let you take a human out of the warehouse, why wouldn't they let you leave the colony with one as well?" I asked him.

"That vamp guarding the door was too nervous of my Cullen status to stop me from taking you, but the vamps guarding the colony gate aren't so easily scared. Besides, taking a human is one thing, but you expect me to leave with others as well; it's not going to be easy by any means."

"Speaking of vamps, I met Alice the other day," I told him, deciding on a more lighter topic. I didn't feel like talking about our impending death at the moment.

"Yeah, she mentioned it," he replied. "Fucking annoying, isn't she?"

"She said you were her brother? What happened to that nomad I met in Washington that didn't have a so called family or coven?"

"I don't have a coven…or a family. She's fucking delusional."

"Apparently those delusions are accompanied by visions of the future…Visions of your indecision of whether or not you were going to kill me."

"Are you surprised?" he asked unashamedly. "I've been telling you that I was going to kill you for weeks."

"No, not surprised, just…I don't know…I thought you were more in control of yourself now?"

"Nah, I'm still considering killing you. I think we should do some dramatic thing where I drain you and then curse god and the devil for making the world what it is, and then I'll go back to Washington to challenge Mutt but let him win in some poetic justice."

"You're really a moron sometimes, do you know that?" I said with a laugh.

"Hey, I'm a lot of things, but moron is not one of them."

"Tell me about Alice," I nearly whined when I realized just how off topic he got us.

"What? There's nothing to tell. She's a Cullen, just like me….as is her mate Jasper."

"But you guys were close at one time?"

"We're first generation Cullens, so to speak," he admitted.

"What does that mean?"

"Carlisle, the original Cullen…he created us. I was his first…He knew I was going to have a gift because his friend Eleazar has the ability to see such things even in their latent human form, and so Carlisle turned me before I died from the fever. Alice came soon after, and then Jasper…When the takeover happened, the leaders were impressed by the accumulation of gifted ones that Carlisle had created, as well as the control he exuded over them, so he was put in charge of _all _gifted vampires. Thus the birth of The Cullen Division."

"I see…and where is Carlisle now?" I asked curiously.

"Don't know, don't care."

"Why? What happened that made you go off on your own?"

He huffed. "It's a long story…Not one that needs to be told right now."

"But-"

"There's no point in asking again 'cuz I'm not going to tell you anymore right now."

"Fine," I relented. I was probably too tired to hear a long story anyway.

I must have been out a few minutes later, because the next thing I knew the sun was coming up over the horizon. "You need to get back to the barracks. I'll try to contact you later this afternoon," Edward told me quietly.

"Ok," I said while stretching my aching limbs. "There are a lot more people here than I expected, I really don't know how I'm going to find Em," I admitted.

"I'm working on it too," Edward assured me.

"You are?" I really had thought he was just playing the part of willing Cullen so we'd be able to get out easier when I found Em, but if he was also searching for him then we definitely had a better chance.

"Yeah…I've got a few leads; I just need another day or so."

"What do you mean you have leads?"

"I just have to keep them talking, and every once in a while he slips into their thoughts."

"Keep who talking?" I asked, feeling like Edward was talking in circles, and I had to wonder if he was doing it on purpose.

"The vampires here. There aren't many wild humans that get brought in, so you and your brother have been the talk of the place. I just need to get them thinking about him, and I should have some clues as to where he is now. In the meantime, I'm helping Jasper with his special assignment as a cover."

"What's the assignment?"

He pressed his lips and shook his head.

"Seriously? You don't trust me enough to say?" I asked incredulously.

"It's not about trust, Bella. You don't need to know this, so I'm not going to tell you."

"Whatever," I pouted. I knew I was being a bit immature about it, but I hated knowing there was so much he was unwilling to tell me. It made trusting him rather difficult, then again, he had always warned me that trusting him at all wasn't the best idea…I had to continue to hope he was wrong.

I leaned in to kiss him goodbye, but then I noticed something. "Your eyes are dark…Are you thirsty?" I asked as I caressed his face tenderly. I really felt like an emotional basket-case with him; I was angry, annoyed, horny, affectionate and everything in between. But right then, I was just concerned.

"I'm fine," he said evenly.

"How have you gotten away with not consuming the blood here?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I'm a Cullen. I don't have to ask for blood, I just take it, so no one would think to keep track to how much or how little I consume."

"So…why haven't you had any? The animal diet is out of necessity, right?" I asked with a grin.

"Yes, it is out of necessity, and it will continue to be necessary after I leave here. There's no way I want to start drinking human blood again when I just got used to the animal shit."

"Right," I said with another laugh. "Makes sense."

"I really don't care if you believe me or not," he said stubbornly.

Even though I was giving him a hard time about it, I was extremely impressed. Not only had he resisted bank blood, but he didn't even bite me when we were having sex…not that I would have minded if he did.

I tilted my head exposing the large vein in my neck. "You can have some of me…I really don't mind," I said sincerely.

"You really need your fucking head examined," he said seriously.

I shrugged. "Eh, probably. But really, you need some blood so I'm offering mine."

He shook his head.

"You've done it before, so what difference does it make?"

"The difference is that I wasn't thirsty then; I'll fucking drain you completely right now. I'll go out later and drink a cow or something."

"A cow?" I asked surprised. I never had a cow myself, but I knew they were quite common at one point.

"Yeah, they farm them here…to feed the people."

"I didn't get any meat."

"Nah, they save it for weekends and pregnant women. You know, your village would be much better off if they had livestock."

"Well, our council didn't exactly have time to gather cows and goats when the takeover happened," I told him with a laugh. "Maybe we should sneak some back to them when we return."

"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't be returning to Washington at all?" Edward reminded me.

"Oh, right…Well we have to at least escort Em and whatever females he may have here back. Maybe the pregnant ones can ride the cows," I semi-joked.

"You're really ok about never going home?" he asked me skeptically.

I thought about it for a minute. "What else am I supposed to do? I can't even imagine what everyone thinks about me now back there…If they even let me back in the wall, no one would ever want to be around me again, so what's the point?"

"Do you really think Jake would have told people?" Edward asked reluctantly.

I raised my shoulders. "I don't know…But I don't even care enough anymore to chance it. We have to get my brother home, and then I'm at your disposal," I told him plainly. "You can keep me as long as you'd like, and then you can kill me."

"Oh, now who's being the martyr?" he said annoyed.

I just laughed at him again. "Come on; get me off this roof so I can go back to my room."


	16. Death

Chapter 16 – Death

Edward walked me back to the barracks, but before we parted ways he pulled me into an obscure area around the corner and kissed me one more time intensely, completely taking my breath away.

"Two more days," he assured me.

"And then what?" I asked curiously as I tried to even out my breathing again.

"And then I figure out a way to get us out."

"Us…including Emmett and a few others, right?"

"Right," he said before kissing the tip of my nose and then pulling away to disappear.

As much as I hated him leaving, I couldn't help but smile because it had been an incredible night, and I was both exhausted and rejuvenated at the same time.

When I got back into the room, I quickly grabbed my standard linen clothes and headed for the showers; I needed to wash Edward's scent off of me the best to my ability so I didn't give us away. When I was finished, I took another half hour to try to get the knots out of my hair with a little flimsy plastic comb before I was finally ready to leave the bathroom.

I grabbed my bowl of gruel, and after forcing it down my throat, I went to go find Bree. Edward said we'd be able to leave with a few other humans, and I decided that my new best friend was definitely going to be one of them; I only hoped she'd be open to leaving. I couldn't imagine her wanting to stay in that horrible place, but it was all she knew and running away would definitely be risking immediate danger, whereas she had a few years at the colony ahead of her at least. The more I thought about it, the more I realized she could very well say no, I only hoped she didn't rat us out if that's what she chose.

"Hey Irina, have you seen Bree?" I asked our bunkmate.

Irina shrugged. "Just like you, she never came back last night."

"Really?" I asked surprised.

"Don't worry; many girls don't come back right away." She shook her head. "This is my third year here and I swear, the girls just get stupider and more desperate. She's a first year, for crying out loud, you'd think she'd have a little more restraint than to just throw herself at any guy who would take her."

I scratched my forehead. "So…if you're a third year, shouldn't you be trying even harder to find a male? I didn't see you at the warehouse last night."

"Oh, no, I don't go to that place," she said snobbishly. "The males there are so…I don't know, immature."

"Um…but finding an immature male is better than being sent to the bank," I tried reasoning with her.

"I'm not so sure about that. I don't want to get pregnant and have a baby just to feed it to those demons."

"I guess," I said sympathetically. "So, what are you going to do?"

She shrugged. "I suppose this is the last year of my life….unless I get claimed and forced, that is…Which is why I try not to go out much."

"Well, hey…maybe…." I was about to invite her to escape with us, but then a group of girls came in and I didn't want everyone hearing. "We should try to talk later, ok?"

"Um…okay. I guess."

I went outside to look in all the spots Bree had showed me the day before. The bowling alley and the rec center, and everywhere else I could think of her being…but there was no sign of her.

I was walking back to the barracks, when suddenly I was stopped…

"Well, well, if it isn't my new claim," a man said from behind me. I turned slowly and saw that same disgusting guy from the warehouse the night before, except he wasn't alone…he had an official looking female vampire with him.

"Um…no, I don't think so," I told him, rejecting his attempt.

"Sorry, but it's my choice," the dude replied. "Take her to the branding room, I want her healed up and in prime condition for breeding by the time she's green-banded," the man said to the vampire.

"Come on, this way," the vampire said before grabbing my arm.

"There is no way in hell," I said, refusing to move.

The vampire seemed amused by my hostility. "There's no point in resisting," she told me before pulling me in the opposite direction.

I was powerless to stop her, so I looked back at the smirking human and decided to pull off my sandal and throw it at him, just to knock the ugly expression off his face. "You made the wrong decision!" I shouted at him. "I'm going to make your life a living hell."

"Hold on there, Charlotte," the man said as he ran to catch up with us. "I just need to talk to my new claim for a moment." He took my arm from the vampire and then pulled me into him. "Listen carefully, you fucking bitch. I know exactly who you are."

"Really?" I asked amused. "And who am I?"

"The wild one they brought in recently. And I know a thing or two about wild humans, I roomed with one not too long ago. Your kind is resistant and combative, but unlike that guy, you will be controlled, otherwise you will end up in The Bank just like he did."

My breath caught. He knew Emmett…and Emmett was in the bank.

"I need to go," I said casually, forgetting about the fact that I was being taken away against my will.

"Nope, it's to the branding room with you," the female vamp said before taking me back from the disgusting man.

"Just one more second," the man said to the vampire. He leaned into me…and licked the side of my face. "Yep, absolutely delicious, just as I expected. Try to rest up after the branding, because tonight we're going to have some fun."

I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand…and then spit in his face. "Well, I will be having fun tonight, but I don't think you're going to like getting castrated too much!" I spat.

The guy laughed once, and then backhanded me across the face. "You will learn to be grateful. Take her," he instructed the vampire.

"No, I need to get to the bank. Send me there instead, please," I said in almost a panic. His pathetic slap didn't even bother me, all I cared about was getting to my brother and escaping before he had a chance to _fully _claim me. There was no way I could handle having that repulsive creep inside of me.

But I should have known Edward would never let that happen either.

"I'll take her, Charlotte," Edward said, coming out of nowhere, and I immediately relaxed.

"I take all claims to the branding room," Charlotte replied.

"Yeah, well, not this one."

She stared at him for a moment, and then shrugged. "Okay."

"No wait, he doesn't even know my branding number," the guy protested. "I'm going to file a complaint to the guards!"

Edward stared at me unseeingly, and then a sinister expression crept across his face. My eyes grew wide, and I knew what was about to happen…but I did nothing to stop it.

In a flash Edward was behind the guy, whose name I never learned, and had his hand around his throat.

"We don't do that here, Edward," Charlotte warned him. "You'll throw off the entire system. Go to the bank if you're thirsty."

Edward considered it for a moment, and then cocked his head to the side and said - "I prefer my blood fresh." And then I gasped when he sunk his teeth right into the guy's neck.

Charlotte mumbled something that conveyed her annoyance before she turned and walked away, but I couldn't focus on her. I just watched in horrified disbelieve as Edward quickly drained the life out of the guy, and then dropped his lifeless body to the ground carelessly.

I felt completely numb. _What the hell just happened?_

The man was disgusting and I would have happily beat the shit out of him if given the chance, but to see him die like that…in Edward's teeth, it was just overwhelming.

His eyes suddenly met mine and I gasped again to see them glowing red, and for the first time, I was afraid.

We stared at each other for a torturously long moment, and then he took a step closer to me…and I took a step back.

"It's just what I am, Bella," he said casually. "I tried to tell you."

I shook my head slowly, and then squeezed my eyes shut. "I know," I forced myself to say while a single tear ran down my cheek. "Are you going to get in trouble for this?" I asked slowly without opening my eyes.

"No. He didn't have any claims so it's not even a big deal. Bella, the guy was despicable, you should have heard the things running through his mind. I did the world a favor, trust me," he said before shoving the body to the side with his foot so that it wasn't just lying there in the middle of the walkway. "Someone will be around shortly to clean this up."

And less than a minute later, two vampires guards showed up to grab the body.

"Charlotte said you took out a human?" one of them asked Edward.

"He was my singer," Edward lied unconcerned.

"Oh…well, ok then…Just don't' let it happen again."

"I'll be dining at the blood bank from here on out," Edward told them.

"Good." The guards left peacefully and took the body away to be disposed of, leaving Edward and I there standing alone once again.

"What now?" I asked awkwardly. What the hell was I supposed to say to my vampire lover after just watching him murder a human anyway.

"Now, get back to work," he said evenly before walking past me and disappearing around the bend.

I walked back to the barracks in a daze, and actually forgot about the fact that I was supposed to be trying to find the bank. I just sat in the bedroom, and could do nothing but replay the death of my potential claimer over and over again. I wasn't sure how I was going to get past it, but I had no choice but to try to remember why we were there…to save Emmett.

"Hey Irina, do you know where The Bank is?" I asked her.

"No…why would you want to go there?"

"I think my brother is there," I told her quietly.

She rolled her eyes. "Most people have a sibling or a friend there."

"Well, I need to get to mine," I told her.

"Good luck," she said mockingly. "People go in, but they don't come out."

"Have you seen Bree, yet?" I asked while looking around. It was weird not having her shadowing me, and I was starting to get concerned.

"Nope, she still hasn't come in."

As much as I wanted to find Em, I had a sudden sinking feeling and I needed to figure out where Bree was. So I began asking around and it seemed no one had seen her since the warehouse, which worried me even more.

With no other ideas, I went back to the warehouse to see if there were any clues as to where she could have gone. Perhaps I was overreacting and she was claimed. She could have been at the branding room for all I knew, but I couldn't shake my troubled feeling.

I decided to take a quick walk around the building, and that was when I saw her. I had already thought that the day couldn't possibly get worse, but I was tragically wrong.

"Bree," I said as my heart clinched in pain. "Bree!" I ran to her crumbled lifeless form and immediately broke down in tears. She was dead. Her body was shoved under a bush and left there like a piece of garbage. "Oh my god!" I screamed as every inch of my body trembled. "Bree."

I was absolutely heartbroken, and completely baffled as I sat there and held her limp form.

And once again, he was there.

"Bella," Edward said while placing his hand on my shoulder.

"No, don't touch me!" I screamed at him. In my hysterical mind it wasn't a coincidence. To see Edward kill that guy, and then this…they had to be connected. "What did you do?"

"What?" he asked surprised. "I had nothing to do with this."

I looked down at the empty shell that had been so full of life the day before, and noticed the bite mark…it was all the proof I needed. "You…you…killed her too!" I cried out. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn't you just kill me if you wanted to eat humans so much."

Like clockwork, two more vampires arrived on the scene.

"Oh, Edward," Charlotte, the vamp from earlier, said.

Edward stood and backed away. "I didn't kill this girl," he told her irritated.

"Hey Charlotte, he's a Cullen, he's allowed to kill whoever he wants," the other vamp stated.

"For fuck's sake, I didn't kill her!" Edward said exasperated.

Charlotte grabbed Bree's lifeless body, and smelled it. "He's right, not his scent."

My chest tightened, and I strangely felt better and worse at the exact same time.

"Ah shit, Peter, go get Maria, we have another one," Charlotte said after quickly examining the body.

"Fuck," Edward mumbled under his breath.

"What?" I asked, though I doubted they would answer me when I was nothing more than a mere human.

"Go back to your barracks, girl," the Peter vamp demanded. When I didn't move fast enough, he yelled at me – "Now!"

I looked at Bree one more time, before doing what I was told…crying the entire way back.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Irina asked me as I passed by her and went straight to my bed. She followed me and sat by my feet. "What happened?"

"Bree's dead," I cried. "She was killed last night…or this morning."

"By a vampire?" Irina asked.

I nodded. "I guess, she had a bite mark."

"Did the vampires say anything when they collected the body?" Irina asked curiously.

I was taken aback by her coldness on the subject, but as I quickly learned, that sort of thing wasn't entirely rare.

"A vampire said something about it happening _again_," I told her.

Irina shook her head. "They had this problem a couple years ago."

"What problem?"

"There was a guard member that was raping girls and then draining them dry."

"What?" I asked flabbergasted.

"Well, these vamps, they're not compatible with us sexually, but that doesn't stop a few sick ones from trying anyway. Every bone in the girl is crushed, and then the vamp loses control and drains them…Although, I suppose it's almost mercy to kill them at that point."

"Oh my god," I said horrified. "Has there…has there ever been a girl to survive such a thing…I mean, one who wasn't drained?" I asked slowly.

She laughed once. "No way. If the vamp doesn't drain them then they die from their injuries. It's impossible for a vampire to have sex with a human without crushing them."

_Well, not impossible. _

I was so upset, and confused, and I just didn't know what to think about any of it. Edward's attraction for me wasn't unique. Other vampires had similar sexual desires for human girls, and I wondered what the hell that meant. But I was alive…and Bree wasn't. Was that just proof that Edward wanted more from me than just a good fuck? Surely he could find a she-vamp for that.

But then the thought of Edward draining that man flashed in my mind. He wasn't some reformed toothless vampire; he was a killer, a killer that had threatened me almost daily since we met.

"God, I just don't know what I'm doing anymore," I said out loud.

"You'll get used to it with time," Irina assured me. "And then your four years will be up, and you'll die," she added casually.

He words made me wail uncontrollably. It was the hardest I had ever cried before, and besides my mother, it was really the first time someone close to me had died. I needed to grieve the loss of Bree, and I suppose that was what I was doing.

She was too young, it just wasn't fair.

But before I even had a chance to let my crying slow, the two vampires who had collected Bree's body came into the barracks and told me that I needed to accompany them somewhere. They took me into the vampire area of the colony where humans usually never ventured, and I began to get nervous. _Why was I being brought there?_

"Did you tell anyone about the girl?" the Peter vamp asked me when we were safely out of any possible human hearing ranges

I shook my head no. "Well, Irina," I admitted, seriously hoping I wasn't getting her into some kind of trouble.

"We will have to talk to her then as well," Charlotte told Peter. He nodded in agreement.

"She's not going to…get in trouble because I told her, is she?"

"No. We just need to make sure she keeps quiet about this," Charlotte told me. "We do not want the humans getting concerned that there is a vampire rapist amongst the guard. The last time this happened it caused paranoia and fear. People were too worried to socialize and it threw off the entire system," she explained.

"Do you know who did it?" I asked, really hoping they'd take pity on my and just give me an answer.

"We do….and it will be handled."

I nodded, and supposedly that was all they wanted from me because they said I could return to my barracks, however they left me alone to find the way out myself. I wasn't sure why, but perhaps they assumed I'd have no reason to go snooping around the vampire area of the colony, and I really didn't. On my way out, however, I saw two large guards standing on either side of a familiar looking dark haired vamp…and Jasper was talking to him with Edward at his side.

I stopped my exit, and found a place to hide where I could hear what was happening.

"So, you did rape the girl?" Jasper asked him. "Was she the first?"

"What the hell difference does it make?" the vamp asked arrogantly. "There are a tone of human girls here, one less isn't going to make a difference."

"One less does make a difference," Jasper told him angrily. "Damn it, Diego, we're trying to rebuild the human population here."

"I'm not the only one who did it, I was just following _his_ lead," he said, pointing at Edward. "He actually took the girl I really wanted, but I suppose that since he's a Cullen he gets a free pass."

And then I knew where I recognized him; he was that creepy vamp watching Bree and me at the warehouse. I covered my mouth to stop myself from screaming out at him. He had wanted me, but Edward beat him there so he settled on poor innocent Bree. It was all my fault.

"Edward, what the fuck is he talking about?" Jasper asked him, confused by the accusations the dark haired vamp was throwing at him.

"Seriously?" Edward asked irritated. "He's admitted to turning the girl into a fucking accordion, and you're concerned about me? Are there any other dead or missing girls around here?"

"No, just a dead, perfectly healthy male," one of the large guards defended the dark haired guy.

My heart began racing at the thought of Edward being in some kind of trouble, but apparently that was a very bad thing. The five vampires convened there must have heard my heart, because they all turned to look in my direction.

"Um…I was just on my way out," I said, not bothering to even try to hide at that point. They caught me there, I only hoped they still let me leave.

"That's her…the girl he took out of the warehouse!" Bree's killer shouted.

"Well, she looks perfectly fine to me," Jasper stated.

"No…he was fucking her on the roof…I saw them."

The other four vampires started laughing at his ridiculous claim, including Edward.

"Diego, if he fucked her, she'd be just like the other girl right now," one of the other guards said.

"No, I guess I'm just a master at fucking humans," Edward said lightly, and they all laughed at his so called joke.

"Ok, I've heard enough. Felix," Jasper said before he turned away and walked off. Edward stayed where he was and we both watched as the biggest guard smirked, and then pulled off the murderous vampire's head.

"Burn it," Edward demanded, so the two guards took the body and severed head, and threw it into a nearby pre-lit fire pit.

At least Bree had some justice.

After a moment of watching the flames in what appeared to be some strange daze, Edward turned his head and looked at me. He huffed, and then walked towards me at a brisk pace. He didn't even pause when he reached me, he just grabbed my arm and towed me right out of the vampire designated area.

"What the hell were you doing in there?" he asked me heatedly when he finally brought us to a stop. He had taken us to an obscure spot of the human rec area, so we were able to speak as freely as possible in that horrid place.

"Charlotte and Peter brought me there…They wanted to make sure I wasn't going to tell anyone about how Bree died."

"Damn it, Bella! Why the hell couldn't you just keep a low profile?"

"You're seriously bitching about this right now?" I asked with angry tears streaming down my face. "Today I found out that my brother is in The Bank, then I watched you suck the life out of a guy, and then I found my only friend murdered. I really don't need your bullshit on top of everything!"

"Ok," he said, surprisingly gentle. "I'm sorry," he added before pulling me into him and holding me close as I broke down. He just held me as I bawled, and no matter how upset I was about witnessing him kill someone so easily, I immediately felt safe again in his arms.


	17. Too Easy

Chapter 17 – Too Easy

"Ok, listen to me. I think we should speed this up and get out first thing tomorrow. There's just too much attention brought on us now, so the sooner we leave the better. Inform anyone you want to take with us, but be careful who you trust," Edward told me gently but intensely.

I looked into his deep red eyes, and was strangely overcome by a feeling I couldn't really describe. It wasn't anger or mistrust like I was expecting, it wasn't even disgust from the human blood warming his system - it was unyielding affection. Seeing his very inhuman act actually ended up doing nothing to my feelings towards him, and I wondered if anything ever would. I was just grateful he was able to navigate the minds of those around us and keep us safe thus far. I really had no idea what I would have done if something happened to him.

I took a deep breath. "What about Emmett? He's at The Bank, how will we get him out?"

He clinched his jaw. "Leave Emmett to me. Don't go to The Warehouse tonight, just hang back and have a quiet evening in the barracks. Eat and rest, because after tomorrow morning, it's going to be a while before you'll be able to relax again."

I nodded, so Edward turned to head back to the vampire area.

"Edward," I called after him. He stopped and looked back at me. "Be careful."

He shot me a devilish crooked smile, and I found myself needing to catch my breath yet again. _God, how the hell did he make me feel that way?_

I couldn't just look at him; I needed to touch him one more time, so I rushed back and threw my arms around his neck, and kissed him. I didn't care that those lips were used to drain the life out of someone only hours before, I needed them like I needed the sun, and I couldn't live my life in darkness.

He kissed me back hungrily, though his hunger had nothing to do with my blood. I could taste how much he wanted me in that kiss, and if I lived a hundred years, I'd probably never understand why. What would a perfect angelic demon like him ever see in a measly nobody of a human like me?

His fingertips moved to my cheeks, and then he gently pulled me away from him but kept my face cradled in his hands. "Tomorrow morning," he reaffirmed.

I nodded, so he took an unnecessary breath, and then let me go and quickly disappeared.

As I walked back to the barracks, I couldn't help but wonder if I just took the final steps into insanity. I should not be ok with everything that happened. Aside from losing Bree, nothing really upset me enough to regret my time with Edward, and I still fully planned on staying with him after we escaped. He was a killer…and apparently I was ok with that. I had seen the worst part about him, and I still wanted him more than anything - more than ever. It was disturbing, but I really didn't care at the same time.

When evening finally arrived, I watched absently as the girls in the building fought and scrambled over the slutty clothes that were there to pick from, and I thought of Bree. Just twenty four short hours before, she was doing the same thing, and she never came back. Would one of those naïve girls share a similar fate? I was fairly certain the vampires were cracking down hard on other vamps that had a taste for human flesh in that way, but I was just as concerned about the human males with equally twisted minds. The guy Edward killed probably would have ended up raping me if he wasn't stopped, and I would bet he wasn't unique amongst the male population.

"Not going out?" Irina asked when she noticed me sitting there.

I shook my head. "Not tonight."

"What about the guy you were with last night? Won't he miss you?" she questioned.

"What guy?"

"If you weren't out all night with a guy, then where were you?"

"Oh…I was making plans. Actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about." I looked around. "When everyone leaves, I'll explain," I told her.

We waited for the last small group of excited girls to leave, and then I made the offer to Irina.

"So…you're going to try to escape in the morning? What makes you think you can trust this vampire?"

Obviously I left out the parts where I was in a sexual relationship with him, but I suppose it was hard to explain regardless.

"He's kept me alive thus far."

"And where is your village?" she asked.

"Its…on the other side of the country," I said vaguely. Edward instructed me to be careful what I said, so I figured I could just tell her where we were going as we went. That tactic seemed to work for Edward in the beginning, so I figured it was best to follow his lead.

"But you don't know how this vampire plans to get you and your brother out?" Irina pressed, obviously trying to understand everything before she made a decision.

"No….but I know he's got a plan. He said he'd handle it. We were planning to take whatever females Em had by now, but since he's been in The Bank, there's no one else we have to worry about…So if you'd like to come and have a shot at a real life, then we leave in the morning."

She scratched her head and looked to be considering it…and then she nodded. "Well, I'm dead here anyway, right?"

I smiled. "I think it's a good decision for you…. Edward said to make sure we eat and get plenty of rest tonight, we have a long journey ahead of us."

She nodded again. "Thanks Bella…for trusting me enough to invite me to go with you."

….

I woke up early the next morning and was surprised to see that Irina wasn't in her bed, but I just figured she was doing whatever preparations she needed for our trip; perhaps saying her subtle goodbyes, and whatnot. But when the breakfast gruel rush was over and I figured it was time to leave, I couldn't find her anywhere.

"Damn it," I said quietly to myself. I waited for another twenty minutes but I just couldn't wait any longer so all I could do was hope to cross paths with her on my way out…Of course, I had no idea where I was supposed to even be meeting Edward at that point.

I had no personal possessions to take with me, so I casually grabbed my freshly filled water bottle that I got from the rec area, and left the barracks for what would hopefully be the last time. I wouldn't miss it.

I walked slowly through the grounds thinking Edward was going to find me and somehow take me out of that place, but after an hour of aimless wandering, I started to get concerned.

He said in the morning…and it was morning, but he wasn't there. A thousand horrible possible scenarios invaded my mind as I tried to think of what the holdup could have been, but there was no way of telling. When lunch time came and went, my concern turned into downright panic.

I knew I shouldn't have done it, my gut told me to turn around, but I found myself walking into the vampire area of the colony anyway. It really was stupid. Vampires could not only smell me, but hear my breathing and heartbeat from a distance away…but I just didn't know what else to do. It's not like it really mattered anyway. If Edward was there he'd make sure I was ok, and if something happened to him, then I'd rather be killed than forced to live the remainder of my life in that horrible place.

"What are you doing here?" someone suddenly said from behind, scaring the shit out of me and making me jump.

I turned slowly and was shocked and slightly relieved to see Alice there, looking at me irritably with her arms crossed in front of her…_Was she tapping her foot?_

"Um…I came here looking-"

"You're looking for Edward, yes I know." She shook her head. "Seriously, humans have the worst memory. I told you that I'm a precog; it wasn't that long ago so I'm surprised you forgot - that's bad, even for a human."

"Um…I didn't forget, but you also said you couldn't see _my_ future," I said slowly.

"I didn't see your future." She grabbed my arm and quickly pulled me around an obscure corner. "I saw Edward's future as he rushed here to save you from _those_ vampires," she explained, just as a small group of vamps walked past.

"Oh," I said when the vampires were gone. "Sorry."

"You're kind of a magnet for danger, aren't you?" she asked, a little irritated.

"Edward told me he'd contact me this morning, and he never did so I got worried," I said, semi honestly. I didn't want to tell her that we were leaving because I didn't know if she was really trustworthy enough, although, with her being a precog I suppose she would know regardless.

"He had a few hang ups. Apparently some girl you room with has told a few of the guard members that you and the latest Cullen arrival were planning to run away today, so he was in questioning."

"Oh my god," I said worriedly.

"Don't worry, he's fine."

I nodded with relief. If anyone could talk their way out of something like that, it was Edward. "A girl told?" I then asked, feeling betrayed and extremely confused. Why the hell would Irina rat me out? What could she possibly have to gain? But more than anything, I just felt stupid. I kept making wrong decisions, and I didn't know how to fix it.

"She asked for asylum for her testimony."

"What?" I asked incredulously. "And they gave it to her?"

"Well, they don't exactly believe her. I mean, why would a Cullen try to free a few humans, it's ridiculous," she said with a humorless laugh. "They had to ask him though. But Jasper vouched for him, and since he's one of the highest ranked Cullens there is, they had no reason not to believe him."

"So what's going to happen to her?" I asked anxiously. She betrayed me, but I didn't want her getting killed over it.

"I can't imagine they'll take her _'lies'_ lightly, especially not when it comes to a Cullen. If she wasn't executed right away in the KN, she'll be put in The Bank. Apparently her time was almost up here anyway."

My stomach clinched into a painful knot. I should have never said anything to her, and like Bree, I blamed myself entirely for her fate. My self-loathing reached an all-time high, and I wanted nothing more than to get away from anyone that could possibly get hurt because of me - and with the current situation Edward was in, that included him as well. If I could be the reason a vampire was in trouble, than I'd never be safe around anyone. Then again, Edward was a murderer and probably deserved a punishment of some kind…maybe the two of us deserved each other after all.

"Come on, I better take you before someone tips off Maria," Alice told me, knocking me out of my self-loathing internal rant.

I went with her willingly, though with my luck it was probably another bad decision. I didn't know Alice, so why the hell was I trusting her? Obviously I was a bad judge of character when it came to such things, but I guess I really didn't have many options at that point.

"We need to hang here for a few minutes," Alice said as we sat against a building of some kind.

"So…who's Maria?" I asked, realizing that I had heard that name a few times before.

"She's in charge of both human mating colonies. Everyone reports to her, and she reports directly to Stefan and Vladimir."

"Who are the leaders of the entire vampire population?" I asked, just trying to be clear.

"Considering that vampires are the top species, Stefan and Vladimir are the leaders of the entire world."

"Oh…right."

"They were originally from Romania, but settled here after the takeover."

"Here? As in here in Florida?" I asked concerned.

"Naturally. Why else would the colony be here? They like their blood fresh from the vein, so they stay close to where the humans are."

I sighed. That was just going to make everything that much more difficult.

"Will Edward make it out?" I asked her slowly. She couldn't see my future, but perhaps if Edward was ok then we'd both be.

"The current path he's on will lead to a semi-peaceful escape…let's hope a certain human doesn't go and make stupid decisions that changes that," she said suggestively.

I nodded. "Got it. I'll do as I'm told until we're safe."

"Oh honey, you'll never be safe, that's just not the world we're living in."

I swallowed hard. "I know." And then I thought about something. "Hey Alice? Does Jasper know what Edward's really doing here? He didn't really seem in the loop when he was questioning that Diego vamp."

"That's because he's not," she stated. I looked at her shocked, though I wasn't sure why I thought she would have told him. I really knew nothing about vampire's social skills, and even less about the relationship between mates. She must have been able to tell what I was thinking, because she huffed and then explained. "Yes, he's my mate, but that doesn't mean I tell him _everything_. And trust me; he doesn't want to know everything, especially since I'm a precog. He'd hate for me to tell him all the things I know."

"But…isn't he going to be pretty pissed when he finds out that you've helped us escape?"

"Why would he be pissed? He doesn't care about what Edward does. As Cullens we're allowed to have whatever humans we want, so if Edward wants you, then Jasper would be perfectly fine by it….It's the other stuff that we have to worry about."

"What other stuff? Wait, you mean Edward and me…being _together_?" I asked slowly.

She scrunched her face. "He doesn't need to know Edward's disturbing bedroom habits either, I was talking about running away with your brother…he's not going to like that, especially after all the work he's put into it."

"What do you mean?" I asked, suddenly becoming lost in the conversation again.

"Oop, we better get going. Edward's going to go looking for you soon."

"Everything went ok with Maria and he's ready to leave?" I asked hopefully.

"The meeting with Maria ended about two hours ago, he's been working with Jasper ever since. I'm not sure how ready he is, but I think it's the best it can be, given the situation." All of a sudden Alice stilled and her face went blank. I didn't understand what was happening at first, but she quickly blinked her eyes and then explained. "Jasper is definitely not happy."

"Edward told him?"

"You guys are going to need our help if you're going to possibly get away alive," she stated.

"What is Jasper going to do? Will he tell Maria?"

"No way. Jasper's not a huge fan of Maria, and his loyalty is to our coven first and foremost, so he'll side with Edward despite being pissed."

"Edward's not in your coven," I told her confused.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course he is. He can run off and sulk on his own for more than a decade, but that doesn't change anything."

"Why did he go off on his own?" I asked, hoping Alice was in a sharing kind of mood.

"Bella, we vampires live by a _need to know_ basis, which is why I didn't tell Jasper the specifics of Edward's involvement with you right away, and why Edward didn't tell you about his reasoning for being on his own all this time. What could you possibly gain from such knowledge?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, a better understanding of him."

"You can't force yourself onto someone emotionally; they have to want to open up to you."

Alice was unexpectedly insightful for a vampire, perhaps it went along with her gift. Of course she was right, but I didn't really have time to think any more about it because she grabbed my arm and tugged me behind her, assumedly to find Edward and Jasper.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting to happen, but I certainly didn't foresee Alice being the one to take me out of the colony walls, but as we neared the gate, it looked as though that was exactly what was going to happen.

"On assignment," she said casually to the guard. He nodded once and then let her pass, and didn't even give me a second look. It was way too easy, and I had a bad feeling that we still had a rough time ahead of us.

"So…where are we going?" I asked as Alice continued to pull me away from the colony.

"No questions," she said quickly before shocking the hell out of me by opening the door to what I assumed was a long deceased automobile. "Get in."

"Um…ok," I said, and quickly did as I was told.

I sat there confused while she flashed to the seat with the wheel, and then put a little metal stick thing into the slot and turned, making the car rumble to life and scaring the shit out of me.

"What's happening?"

"Relax, it's just a car," she said with a little laugh.

"Oh shit," I mumbled when she moved her foot and the automobile jetted forward. "How is this even possible?" I asked after a minute. Being in the moving car was surreal, but I was able to quickly adjust to the feeling of it and refocus on the latest strange situation I found myself in.

"Just because humans don't have use of cars anymore, doesn't mean we don't. The colony had electricity as well, but you didn't seem too surprised by that," she said casually.

"Well the electricity at the warehouse and in the barracks made sense, why would a vampire need a car when they could probably run faster?"

"It's a good way to lose one's scent," she explained. "Plus, it's easier to transport humans, and most importantly, you don't get dirty this way."

"Oh…right. So where are we going?" I asked anxiously, realizing at that moment that I was alone and probably untraceable with a strange vampire that could have ulterior motives. Edward left his coven for a reason, so blindly trusting Alice could prove to be a fatal mistake. He couldn't rescue me if he couldn't track me.

"We're going to meet the guys," she said with an irritated huff.

"How will Edward know you have me?"

"Obviously he was able to read my thoughts as we left the colony. I mean seriously Bella, please try to keep up with the happenings around you. I know you're only human, but really."

_Um…okay_. So I decided to just keep my mouth shut for a while. If Alice planned to double cross me, then there really wasn't anything I could do about it. I was basically at her mercy, and again, nothing could be worse than being stuck in the colony indefinitely.

She drove us down a broken old highway, and I had to admit, it was fascinating to look out the window and watch the pitiful world go by at such a fast pace. The long abandoned buildings and towns were somber and almost lonely looking, but I could easily imagine how great everything once was. It must have been incredible to live in a world where the biggest fear was finding a way to pay the monthly bills.

An hour or so later, she abruptly turned and began forging her own road through the rough terrain.

And an hour after that, she finally pulled us to a stop. "We should be good here, but we're going to want to keep moving on foot as soon as we're all reunited. They may have let us go without any issues, but once they realize what happened it's not going to be so easy."

"So Edward and Jasper are going to bring Emmett here?" I asked, feeling the most amount of hope that I had since Emmett first left our village.

"They'll be here in five."

"Five minutes?" I nearly squealed excitedly.

"Seconds," she said, and that was when I saw them; three figures appeared about 150 yards away, walking towards us at a brisk human pace.

As they got closer, my imperfect eyes could see Jasper on the left, Edward on the right, and in between them was… "Emmett!"

I couldn't believe it. It was something I had prayed for, and yet, honestly had my doubts would ever happen. Emmett was there, he was alive…and surprisingly looked remarkably healthy for someone who had been in the bank for a while…in fact, he even looked stronger than he did the last time I saw him. I didn't understand it, but I didn't care because all that mattered was that he was ok, and I was beyond grateful.

I couldn't just stay there and wait for them to reach us, so I got out of the car and began running towards them.

"Emmett!" I shouted again, and from that distance I could vaguely make out his face as he looked up at me and smiled his big warm infectious smile. He moved as if he was going to run to me as well, but for a reason I didn't understand, Edward and Jasper caught him by the arms and restrained his advancement.

I continued to run, but the closer I got, the slower I became until finally coming to a complete stop several yards away from them. Alice flashed by my side, and we both stood there and watched as Edward and Jasper continue to struggle to hold onto my brother….and everything suddenly became fuzzy.

"Let me go!" Emmett growled at them ferociously. His bright red eyes pierced me with crazed hunger, sending a paralyzing fear right through my chest, and I abruptly lost all hope.

My brother hadn't survived after all.

Emmett was a vampire.


	18. Hopeless

Chapter 18 – Hopeless

I felt like my entire world had collapsed with the loud bang of a stone body crashing to the earth forcefully. Everything that I strived for, the entire trip, betraying my family, my home, it was all pointless. Emmett was gone - dead as his still heart, and I was left dangling in hollow confusion.

_What was I supposed to do now?_

But it wasn't time to grieve my loss just yet, because it seemed as though the demon that took over my brother's body wanted nothing more than to eat me.

I watched horrified as Jasper and Edward tried to keep Emmett vamp from killing me, and it just completely broke my heart.

"Alice!" Jasper shouted at her as Emmett began flailing around to get out of their grasp.

"Right," she said quickly, and then grabbed me to probably take away somewhere, but then…

"No, keep her here!" Edward insisted. His voice was strained from the exertion he was using to keep my former brother down, but it had a level of authority to it that demanded obedience, and as much as Alice looked like she disapproved, she complied.

"Edward, what the hell are you trying to pull?" Jasper asked him confused. "He's a newborn; you know he can't control himself around humans. If you don't want the girl to be his next meal, let Alice take her away."

"No!" Edward shouted. I watched completely flabbergasted as Edward moved Em into a chokehold, and then grabbed a handful of his hair and forced his head up so that I could see into his red eyes again. "Look at her!" Edward demanded. "Who is she?"

"A human!" Emmett spat as he continued to thrash his body in violent spasms.

Edward pulled his hair so that his neck arched back further into a position that definitely looked painful, even for a vampire. "Who. Is. She?" Edward asked strongly again, enunciating every word so Emmett could better understand.

"A human!" Em repeated, though he sounded a bit more distressed than before.

"What's her name?" Edward pressed while continuing to pull back on his hair.

"Ahh!" Emmett screamed. "I don't know!"

"Search through your human memories and tell me who she is!" Edward's tone was menacing, and even Jasper looked at him slightly intimidated.

"I don't know…I can't remember," Em practically cried from the pain Edward was inflicting.

"Try!"

"Edward, what the hell are you doing?" Jasper asked him slowly.

Edward ignored him. "Search your fucking mind!" he shouted irately into Em's ear.

Every muscle in my body was tense and I wasn't even sure if I was breathing or not, but my heart sure was beating out of my chest, which I could imagine only made things that much worse for the four vampires surrounding me. I risked a glance at Alice, and she looked entertained by the events before us, but not worried whatsoever, so I felt myself relax just a decimal.

"Edward," I said quietly, not being able to speak any louder. "Please…just let me get away from him."

"No," Edward snapped. "Not until he tells me your name."

"What's the point?" I asked hopelessly as I remembered something he had told be a few weeks prior. '_A vampire leaves their human life behind when they turn. Family, friends, even spouses,'_ – So if that was true, I just really didn't understand what he was trying to do.

When Emmett didn't respond to Edward's demand, he got even angrier and pulled his head back to the point where I could see cracks starting to form on his neck.

"No stop!" I screamed, terrified for the demon that used to be my brother. He was pure evil, but I couldn't stand there and watch my brother's face as its head was removed from its body.

"Bella!" Emmett shouted unexpectedly. His voice was strangely strong considering the fact that his neck was close to being severed, and if I didn't know any better, I would have thought he actually remembered me somehow.

Edward eased up on him slightly, but kept his tone just as aggressive. "Who is she?"

"My sister! Bella, oh god," Emmett cried, giving a good impression of the guy my brother once was. Not only did he look upset, but he stopped fighting and I could have sworn the murderous bloodlust dissolved from his eyes.

"Ok Alice, go ahead and take her away," Edward instructed.

"What? No," I protested. I didn't want to go anywhere, but I suppose at the same time, I was extremely overwhelmed and could really use a moment to collect my thoughts.

Alice led me back to the car, and after we both got in, she started the engine and drove us away.

"Where are we going?" I sniffled, crying silently but forcing my voice to stay even.

"Just a couple of miles, you need to get out of his scent range for a while."

I nodded, but decided not to say anything else. My entire body was trembling from the event, and I knew if I started talking I'd just lose it completely.

When the car came to a stop in some rural obscure area, I stared out the window unseeingly and tried to come to terms with my new harsh reality. Bree was dead, Irina was probably dead, who knew where Jacob was, I could never go home again, and my brother - who had always been the most important person in the world to me - was a demon. Where the hell was I supposed to go from there?

I had no idea how long we had sat there for, but after a while I could tell that Alice was getting a little antsy. "Bella, I'm going to go babysit," she said gently.

"Babysit?" I asked in a daze, not sure if I understood her correctly.

She smirked. "Well, he is a newborn," she said before getting out of the car. I expected her to just shut the door and leave me alone for a bit, but I was immensely grateful when Edward appeared in the seat she vacated.

I didn't say anything to him, I simply crawled into his lap and pressed my face into the coolness of his neck.

"Everything is going to be fine," he cooed as he stroked my back.

"How is everything going to be fine?" I asked incredulously.

He huffed, and almost seemed to get a little irritated. "I get that this is a shock for you, but I didn't expect you to be _this_ upset. You wanted your brother back, and there he is."

"_That_ is not my brother! That's some demon that killed him and then took over his body," I cried.

Edward didn't respond verbally, but I could feel his body stiffen. It was quiet for a minute, so I thought about what I said and realized my mistake. "I mean…he's different now," I backtracked, knowing that my words may have hurt his feelings a bit.

"You mean exactly what you just said," he rebutted. "It's fine Bella, you don't have to censor yourself for me."

"No, it wasn't what I meant…well, it was, but…I don't know. Why did you even bring him here; why didn't you just tell me he was a vampire and left it at that?"

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd freak out, and I brought him here because despite being a demon, he's still your brother and you can still have him in your life."

"But you said that vampires leave their family and friends behind, so why would he even care enough to not kill me? You saw him, he wanted to eat me."

"Yeah, I did say that, and it's the truth, but you're forgetting the most important part…the part where I explained that they leave it all behind _unless_ their love is strong enough to carry through….Mine wasn't strong enough when I became a vampire, but I think his is…he just needed to be forced to remember."

I thought about what he was saying, but right when I started to feel the tiniest amount of hope again, I'd think of something else wrong with the situation.

"But he's a vampire…how can I have a relationship with a vampire?" I asked somberly.

Edward snaked his hand sneakily down my pants and right to my crotch. "I don't know, how can you?" he asked suggestively.

I smiled despite myself. "But you're different," I told him, pushing his hand away because I knew he was just trying to prove a point. "I've only ever known you as _this_…I don't have the privilege of knowing and missing the human you."

"Do you really think I was all that different before?"

"Well, I doubt you were a blood thirsty, insane, freak that liked to fuck your food," I said casually.

"No…I wasn't blood thirsty, but the rest-"

"Oh, shut up," I giggled. Only Edward could make me smile after the horrible couple of days I had, and the fact that I was giggling was kind of mindboggling.

"If I can control myself around you, then Emmett can learn to as well," he tried convincing me.

"But you remember your human life, why couldn't he?" I asked, just trying to understand everything.

"He's a newborn. It's hard to remember things like that when all you can think about is blood. And like I told you before, I don't remember everything from my human life. Little things have come back over the decades, but it took me calmly thinking about it all to really get back to a place I could recall things easier. Emmett just needs some time… the problem is, we don't have much time. They're going to be after us soon, so we need to get on the move again."

"Who's going to be after us?" I asked nervously. "Why would anyone care if a Cullen took a human…the same human that you brought in a few days prior. I mean, I haven't even been in their system very long."

"It's not about you…it's about Emmett."

"I don't understand."

"Well, remember when I told you that it's illegal to make new vampires right now – because the world is overpopulated and there's not enough blood to go around."

"Yeah?" I said slowly.

"It would take something important for them to break that rule…They made Emmett for a reason."

I scrunched my face. "Does he have some kind of gift like you and the other Cullens?"

"Actually he does…He's very strong physically, even for a newborn, but more importantly, he's a shield."

"A shield?" I asked confused.

"Yeah…It's not as solid as yours is, even in your latent human form, but with time he'll be able to develop it and it could be of great use to the leaders."

"Wait, I have a shield too?" I asked surprised.

"It must run in your family. I didn't realize what it was until Jasper told me what Emmett's gift is, and then it was obvious. I can't read your mind because you have a very strong mental shield; if you were to become a vampire, there's no telling how powerful it could be. Emmett's is weaker. I can still hear his mind if I really concentrate and listen hard, but that is something he can fix with training."

"So…does that make him a Cullen too?"

He nodded with a shrug. "I suppose they would have branded him as such eventually, but with us on the run, who knows what will happen now."

"But why are we on the run? Can't he just work on his desires for my blood, and still help the leaders?"

Edward sighed. "Emmett's gift and strength is just a bonus, the real reason why he was turned…is because they want the information he has in his head. He was extremely combative when he first arrived at the colony, and they were going to put him in The Bank because he refused to cooperate and wouldn't choose any females, but Maria was impressed with the level of fight he put forth, and then she got the idea that if turned, he could lead them to the wild human village he came from."

"What?" I gasped. "Oh no!"

"Jasper was called in to help control and train him because he has experience with newborns…and since there haven't been any other newborns in years, Emmett was quite the fascination of many vampires around the colony. It actually worked well for me because I was quickly able to make up the excuse of being there to navigate through Emmett's mind to try to hear the whereabouts of his human village. They are not going to be happy that any of us are gone, and they will continue to hunt us until they get him back…especially since Maria is his creator; she's never been one to let her creations go easily."

"But why didn't they think to change _me_ for the information?" I asked terrified.

"Because I told them that I caught you in the desert…They probably figured you were alone or only had a small family unit. You're more useful to them in the system than as a vampire, and they don't check every human for potential gifts so they wouldn't know to even factor in your shield."

"How did they know Emmett was from a village?"

"That, I'm not sure of. It could have been from a number of reasons - Maybe they tortured him, maybe it was someone else he found along the way who told. But I do know that they still don't have the information they want; they know there's a village, they just have no idea where to look because Emmett couldn't remember thus far."

"But now that Emmett is starting to remember me…will he remember the location of the village too? Will he go back and tell the vampires where it's at?"

I hated to think it, but if it was vampire Emmett or the safety of the village, I'd have to go with the village. Perhaps he was the one who needed to be sacrificed to the wolves – The thought made me nauseous.

"I'm not going to give Emmett the chance to run back to them. The more time he spends with you, the more he'll remember…and hopefully his loyalty will return to you and your people."

"And then what? He'll just be the village's guardian vampire? He can protect the people with the wolves as long as he's given human sacrifices the way the people do in Texas?" I said in a rush with a new round of tears. Even if Emmett could control himself, what good would it do? He was still a demon.

"Bella, there are worse things than being a vampire," Edward said bitterly.

"Like what?" I asked, truly baffled. I'd rather be dead, myself.

"Look at the world today," Edward tried convincing me. "Vampires are the most powerful being there is; they're the top of the food chain. Why would anyone pick to be a lamb when they can be a lion?"

"Maybe because they don't want to be a monster!" I said, a little too harshly. "Besides, a predator is still dependent on its prey, so they can't possibly be _the most powerful being there is_. The food goes away, then everything else falls as well. The world's current unrest is proof of that."

"I admit, the predator-prey balance is off, which is why they're trying to fix it. But that's even more of a reason to be a vampire; both species are suffering, might as well suffer at the top."

I shook my head at him, and didn't know what else to say. We were at an impasse, and I could tell there was no resolve in sight.

"So…what's the plan now?" I asked wearily. Not only were we in a dangerous hostile area, but it seemed we were going to have a group of deadly vampires chasing us as well. _As if things really needed to get any harder. _

He took a deep unnecessary breath. "I have an idea….but it's not going to be easy, and it's one of the very last things I ever wanted to do."

"Okay," I said slowly. "What is it?"

He pressed his lips and shook his head ever so slightly.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" I guessed.

"I'd rather not…at least not yet. No sense in getting your hopes up for nothing."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, what about Jasper and Alice? Are they going to help us, or do we need to run from them too?"

"I think they'll be on board…At least I really hope they will be. Emmett is a newborn, and even if he wants to be the brother you know, his instincts may work against us. I need their help to control him."

"And let me guess, this idea of yours includes going on another seemingly endless journey?" I asked jadedly.

He nodded. "Unfortunately. I'm not even sure where we're headed, which is another reason why I need Jasper - he as information on the whereabouts of a crucial part of my idea."

"Why won't you just tell me?" I whined. "I hate staying out of the loop."

"I can't tell you, but I swear, I'm trying to make everything right. You're just going to have to trust me on this."

I tangled my fingers into the back of his hair, and reburied my face into the crook of his neck. "Of course," I murmured. "You're the only one left that I do trust."

He gently raised my face by lifting my chin with his fingers, and then he kissed me tenderly. "We need to get going…unless, of course, you want to fuck first? Doing it in a car could be a fun experience, and we may never get the chance again."

I smiled at him. "You really are hopelessly insatiable, aren't you?"

He nodded unapologetically. "Good thing I found you to feed my appetite, right?"

And just like that, all of life's losses and sorrows were temporarily forgotten as a wave of desire washed over me. Edward was definitely right about one thing, I was just as hopeless in that aspect as he was. It didn't matter how much the world was in shambles around us, there never seemed to be a time that I didn't want him in that way, which was fucking insane. But I suppose being insane was really the only way to survive the current state of the world, and with my village on the line, I definitely needed to survive to make sure they were safe.


	19. Smelling Affection

Chapter 19 – Smelling Affection

It was a weird position to be in, but if we could do it in a tree or a rickety old roof, why not an automobile.

I somehow managed to shimmy out of my pants, and then turned in his lap to face him. He lifted my hips just enough for him to unfasten his own pants before I pushed them down impatiently, and immediately sunk down on him. There was no need or time for pleasant foreplay, I was always ready to be connected to him in that way, and it appeared he was always ready for me as well.

He slowly began lifting me by the hips and then pulling back down on him, getting increasingly rougher as the intensity of the buildup grew. Edward always had a way to take things to the edge and teeter between dangerous pleasure and pain, but whenever it got to be a little too much for me, he'd always know somehow and ease off without even being asked.

As his lips moved to my neck, I found myself bracing for what I hoped was the inevitable. It had been far too long since he bit me last and I was suddenly insanely desperate for that sensation.

"Edward, bite me," I moaned, but when his teeth willingly grazed my skin, they didn't actually puncture it. "Please," I begged as the tightening in my gut threatened to push me over. So he complied and bit me hard…but still not hard enough to break my skin. I meant to complain, but I had been so close that even that little pathetic bite was enough to finish me off. I felt myself clamping down on him, and he responded by grunting into his climax and squeezing my hips so hard that I was sure to have a bruise from it, not that I really cared.

When the incredible numbing haze of afterglow devoured me, I lazily laid back against the steering wheel, but immediately got startled when the car made a god awful loud beep sound.

"What was that?" I asked when the noise stopped.

Edward laughed at me. "You leaned on the car horn. Everything is fine."

"Oh," I said, forcing myself to relax. "But…can't vampires hear that from a ways away?" I asked, suddenly becoming nervous again.

He thought about it for a moment. "Good point, we should probably get out of here." He gently pulled me off of him, and sat me on the other seat so I could re-dress while he fastened his pants.

"So…why didn't you bite me?" I asked as we got out of the car.

"I did," he played innocent.

"You know what I mean," I said with a grin. I was still slightly disappointed in his lack of my blood consumption, but he was seriously too adorable to really be upset at.

"Bella, you don't want to be a vampire…and you certainly don't want to be drained, so why should I bite you?" he asked casually, but there was definitely a hint of bitterness laced in his words.

"For the same reason you've been biting me since the beginning - because it feels good."

"I never bit you because it feels good, at least not for me. It's actually hard as hell to bite you like that."

We began walking towards the direction we left the other vamps in, but I wasn't going to let that particular topic go just yet.

"If it's was always hard to bite me, why'd you do it so much before?"

"It's kind of one of those –_damned if you do, damned if you don't_- kind of things. It's hard either way…Of course, it wouldn't be hard at all of you were a vampire."

"But I don't want to be a vampire, and it was never part of the plan. Besides, it's illegal," I said with a smirk.

He shook his head and looked as though he was going to argue some more, so I grabbed his face and claimed his lips. "I thought you were still trying to decide if you're going to kill me or not…now you want me to be a vampire?" I asked with a giggle.

He narrowed his eyes at me, but didn't respond further.

"Why don't you just hop on my back, and I'll run us to the others."

I took a deep breath. "Okay," I said, and then did as he asked. We only went a couple of miles so the run was only a minute or so, but when we got there I immediately tensed from the sight of Emmett vamp, standing like a statue between Jasper and Alice. I may have even cowered into Edward's back a little.

"He's ok now," Edward assured me quietly before helping me off of him.

Emmett's glowing red eyes burrowed into mine, and a shiver ran up my spine making me quiver. It was an intense standoff for several long minutes, and then finally he took two steps closer to me. Jasper and Alice shadowed his movement, and Edward moved into a protective stance positioning himself semi in front of me.

"Bella?" Emmett asked hesitantly.

I didn't see him as my brother anymore and I really didn't want to talk to him at all, but with my village on the line I thought it was best to at least attempt to get him to want to be my friend.

So I bit my lower lip and said - "Hey Em…how are you?" I felt like an idiot, but I had no idea what else to say.

"I'm a vampire," he said flatly. "I guess you can say that I've been better." I nodded, so he huffed and an expression crossed his face that almost looked broken. "I don't know how I let this happen, everything is so…hazy. Bella, what the hell am I supposed to do now?"

I scrunched my face. "You're asking me?"

"I've just spent the last hour remembering everything I could from the last few years of my life. It's like trying to remember a forgotten dream, but that doesn't make it any less real." He bent down and picked up a rock off the ground, and then crushed it between his fingers as if it was nothing more than a dried dirt clump. "I just can't believe this…Bella, I swear, I never wanted this. I still don't want this. What the hell am I going to do now?" he asked again, but his voice sounded desperate and almost convinced me he was sincere.

"I don't know what you're going to do," I said slowly. "But what you can't do is go back to the colony. You can't help them find my people."

He shook his head. "I don't want to help them, I want my life back."

"We should get moving," Jasper said suddenly, and I was grateful for his interruption. If Jasper didn't end the surreal awkward conversation I was having with my former brother, I might have started feeling something for him other than disgusted loathing.

"You sure you want to do this, Edward?" Jasper asked slowly, though I had no idea what he was referring to. Edward nodded, so Jasper grabbed Emmett's arm and started pulling him towards the nothingness before us. Edward hurried to walk on the other side of Em, and Alice came to walk at a steady pace besides me. It was actually all extremely strange.

"How long do you think it'll take us to get there?" Edward asked Jasper.

"At this pace? It could take months, up to a year, even. It's pretty far from here. If only we could run…"

"We can't run. We'd be tracked easier that way, plus it would make controlling Emmett nearly impossible," Edward said quickly.

"A year?" I asked wearily. "Is there any way we could go faster?"

"We're just going to have to see how it goes. As of right now, we walk," Edward said evenly.

"You don't have to control me. I'm fine," Emmett tried assuring him. "I'd never hurt my sister," he said unexpectedly.

"Um….did you forget what happened just a little while ago," Alice said out of nowhere.

"You're a newborn, you can't even trust yourself because your instincts are too strong," Jasper told him. "Anything could set you off and you could quickly become out of control."

"I understand what you're saying, and that's probably true with most other bloodsuckers, but not me. I didn't remember her before, but now that I do I'm sure as hell not going to forget again, and there is no way I'd ever hurt my sister."

"Your instincts-" Jasper tried arguing, but Emmett wasn't having it.

"Fuck my instincts! That's my little sister. I practically raised her, and I'll be damned if she ends up anyone's meal…Which brings me to my next point – How the hell did you end up with these vamps?" he asked me intensely. "I mean really Bella, what the fuck?"

"It's a long story, and vampires have this _'need to know'_ thing," I told him absently, momentarily having a hard time remembering that he wasn't actually my brother. He sure as hell did a good impression of the overprotective Em he used to be.

Emmett looked at each of the other three vampires walking with us as if he was seeing them all for the first time. His untrusting eyes settled on Edward, who had subtly moved closer to me and was walking sort of between us.

"I wouldn't," Edward warned him.

"Wouldn't what?" I asked concerned.

"What's going on, Edward?" Jasper asked him slowly.

"Nothing, Emmett is just forgetting who we are, that's all."

Emmett scowled at him, but then turned his head and looked back at the terrain ahead of us. I happened to glance at Edward, and he was smirking evilly which made me that much more curious as to what Emmett-Vamp was thinking. Every several minutes or so, Edward's face would distort into that smirk, and I just couldn't take it anymore.

"What's going on?" I asked irritated.

"What?" Jasper asked confused. When Edward didn't answer, he looked to his mate.

"I don't see anything happening, so nothing is," Alice said plainly.

"Edward, you're freaking out the human. What the hell is going on?" Jasper asked sternly.

"It's just hilarious listening to Emmett's mind," Edward admitted. "Since remembering Bella, he's got this overwhelming hate for vampires, and he's thinking about the different ways he could kill the three of us to save his sister."

"I thought you said I had a shield thingy?" Emmett asked Jasper angrily.

"Your shield only works if you concentrate on it," Jasper clarified. "But maybe you should stop thinking about killing all of us, it's rather insulting."

"Well, you're disgusting leeches."

"Says the leech," Alice said amused.

Emmett glared at her, but then tried to subtly move closer to me…a move Edward refused to allow.

"What the fuck is your issue?" Emmett questioned him.

"You're a newborn; you can't be too close to her."

"Oh, but I'm just supposed to trust you pricks with her? I don't think so. I have a real reason to want to keep her safe, what the hell is your excuse?"

"He does kind of have a point," Jasper agreed. "I mean, I wasn't going to question you on anything - you wanted to go see Carlisle, so we go - but why bring the girl? We could move a lot faster without her."

It was actually a very good question, one I'd like to hear his answer to myself. I raised my brows and crossed my arms as I waited for Edward to bullshit his way out of that one.

"We're bringing her, because I said we are," Edward said firmly.

Jasper nodded, and then surprisingly seemed to let the topic go. It was an odd dynamic between the three Cullens; they trusted each other blindly, as if betrayal wasn't even something they considered a possibility, which only made Edward's decade long departure from the group that much more baffling. But Jasper had just mentioned that we were going to find Carlisle, so my mind was reeling with the possibilities as to why. Edward promised me he was going to make everything right – _whatever the hell that meant_ – I was just perplexed by what his estranged creator had to do with it.

We walked silently for a while but Emmett kept trying to get closer to me, and Edward kept blocking him, so eventually he decided to just ignore Edward's presence altogether.

"So…how long have you been away from home?" Em asked me, stretching his head forward to try to see around Edward.

"I don't even know how long it's been," I said honestly. "I left as soon as we got word that you were captured."

"That really was stupid of you Bella, what were you thinking?" he chided me.

"I was thinking that I wanted my brother back," I snapped, surprising us both with my sudden hostility. "And you have no room to call anything I've done stupid. You were the one that ruined everything by leaving in the first place. If you would have just stayed home, none of this would have happened."

"That's true," he said quietly. "Look Bella, I think you should go back home…Maybe if we could lose these vamps, I could take you."

"Oh, and I'm supposed to trust _you_?" I asked incredulously.

"Well you can't cross the country by yourself, it's too dangerous; I'm actually shocked you made it all the way to Florida."

"If I was going to go back home, then I'd have Edward take me. At least he's been to the village since he's been a vampire."

"You've been to my village?" Em asked Edward irately. "How many people did you kill?"

"He didn't kill any. The wolves caught him….and then I busted him out."

"Bella," he said disappointingly. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"We had an agreement…one that he's honored," I explained.

"And what kind of agreement was it?"

"That if I got him away from the wolves, he'd help me get you back."

"Ok, so he helped you get to me, and now what?" Em asked skeptically. "He's just going to allow you to leave when you want, and you're going to trust him to not bring others to our village? Bella, you can't trust a vampire."

"Exactly," I said suggestively.

"I'm your brother."

"You were," I let slip.

His face dropped, and he looked absolutely heartbroken by my comment. _Shit_. I was supposed to be gaining his loyalty, not pushing him away.

"Bella, I can't help what happened to me," Em said slowly. "But you don't have to give up your life because mine ended. Let me take you home. I know where it's at, so if I really wanted to kill everyone I could with or without you. But I swear Bella, I don't want to hurt anyone, I just want you safe."

I really wished I could believe him. "Look, you're going north with the Cullens, and so am I. If we survive whatever Edward's plan is, you can take me home then," I lied.

"But they just said it's far away, what are you planning to do when these vamps get thirsty and there are no other humans around?" Em asked concerned.

"I've been with Edward for months, we've always been able to handle it," I assured him.

"How?" Jasper asked unexpectedly.

"Animals," Edward said casually.

Jasper and Alice both made a disgusted face, though I was sure Alice already knew.

"Is that why your eyes were that gold color?" Jasper asked disturbed.

"It's not too bad," Edward told them. Jasper obviously didn't believe him, so Edward laughed. "Ok, it's horrible, but no one is eating Bella."

"Why the hell do you care?" Emmett questioned him. "I mean, I know I'm not going to let anyone hurt her, but what's it to you?" Without warning Emmett stopped walking, and looked at Edward full of rage. "What's that smell?"

"I'd let it go if I were you," Edward warned him.

"No, what's that smell?" he pressed. He then took a step closer to me and looked as though he was smelling me as well. "Why do you smell like him, Bella?"

Uh… "Well, I rode on his back to catch up to you guys," I said slowly.

"No, it smells different…It smells like…what the fuck is that?"

"Ah fuck, Edward!" Jasper shouted abruptly, making me jump. "I smell it too. What the hell have you done?"

"What's going on?" I asked confused. I would have been more concerned, but Edward's expression was annoyance rather than worry, so whatever it was, it couldn't have been that big of an issue.

"Diego was right," Jasper continued.

"Diego wasn't right," Edward argued carelessly. "That vamp was a sick fuck, and he should have been executed."

"How was what he did any different than what you're doing?" Jasper asked.

"What is he doing exactly?" Emmett asked, still unsure. But Edward and Jasper weren't paying attention to him at all.

"I didn't force myself on a girl, and then crush and drain her," Edward told Jasper, still keeping his even tone.

"No, but what the hell? Why would you even want to do something like that? I mean, could you really not find a she-vamp to unload in?"

"Wait a minute? I know what that smell is," Emmett seethed. He turned to look at Edward with pure, unadulterated fury. "It's the smell of sex. You've been fucking my sister!"

"What the hell are you going to do about it?" Edward challenged him.

"I'm going to rip your fucking head off!"

"Ok, that's enough!" I shouted, making all the vampires look at me. "It's no one's business who may or may not be fucking me."

"Bella, he's a-"

"None of your business, Emmett!" I cut him off.

"He could kill you," he added quickly.

"None of your business," I repeated.

"It's not my business if he kills you?" Em argued.

"Of course he could kill me, _all of you could kill me_, but I'm still alive and what I do is no one's business but mine."

"Jeeze Bells, you could have at least been with someone in your own species," Em went on.

But that comment pissed me off more than anything. "My own species? You know, you should really keep your mouth shut about mixing species. You and dad wanted me to be with Jacob!" I spat.

Emmett looked shocked…and then disgusted again. "I forgot about that," he said slowly. "You're right, that is horrible. Why the hell would I have ever wanted you marrying a dog?" he asked himself.

"A dog?" Alice said confused.

"Well, a shape-shifter," I corrected.

"Same difference," Emmett said sourly. It was actually quite amusing to me how utterly repulsed he had become from the mere mention of the wolves. As a human, Emmett had thought they were the neatest thing in the world, so I suppose Vamp-Em was better than the original in one aspect.

"So your village had a pack of shape shifters guarding it?" Jasper asked fascinated. "I've only ever seen one before."

"You've seen a shape shifter?" I asked worriedly. If he had come across Jacob at some point, there was a good chance Jake was no longer living.

"Yeah…a few years back. It was an interesting creature, but it was alone so I wondered if it was unique."

"Nope, our village has a whole bunch of them," Emmett told him.

"And they breed with humans?" Alice asked curiously.

Emmett squeezed his eyes shut. "Yes, and I can't believe I actually wanted Bella to be with one…Although, a wolf never killed its lover. Now, Bella's current fucker –"

"Oh, shut up!" I yelled irritated. "Yes, Edward and I have sex, get over it. Now let's get moving again; we're wasting time by just standing here." I didn't give any of them a chance to respond; I just laced my fingers into Edward's and resumed walking. They all looked shocked by my bold display of affection towards him, but I figured there was no point in hiding it anymore.

I didn't care what any of them thought anyway, and if we were really going to be walking indefinitely, I was glad I didn't have to pretend to feel indifferent towards Edward the entire time. In fact, since I never really planned on going home again, we didn't even have to rush – we could walk in that way for the rest of my life for all I cared. My only concern left was that no one from the colony found us.

Whatever Edward's plan was didn't even matter, it couldn't change the fact that my brother was a vampire…my lover was a vampire…and Alice, who was the closest thing I had left to a friend, was a vampire as well. I knew Edward wanted me to be turned, and in many ways it made sense, but that wasn't an option for me; I could do nothing but live out the rest of my life surrounded by demons, and I was really okay with that.

* * *

*****A/N: WTH Bella? Just get turned already! LOL. - She has her reasons for wanting to remain human, and it will be explained soon. Thanks for sticking with me :) **


	20. Confessions

Chapter 20 – Confessions

"We need to make camp," Edward said when the sun sunk beneath the horizon.

"What, why?" Jasper asked confused.

"Bella needs to rest," Edward replied.

"Oh…right."

I was tired, but I had been more excited to stop and make camp because I really wanted some alone time with Edward…that was until I remembered that vampires didn't sleep the way Jacob did, so we never really had time to ourselves at all. Edward sat and let me rest against him, but the other three vampires just stood there looking rather awkward.

"You could go try to hunt," Edward suggested.

"I don't want to kill any humans," Emmett said quickly.

"Go hunt animals," Edward told him irritated.

Alice and Jasper both grimaced.

"How often are you used to…feeding?" I asked them reluctantly.

"We usually use bank blood," Jasper told me. "It doesn't stay in our system as long as draining a fresh human, so we feed every other day, or so. We should be ok tonight, but tomorrow we're going to have to bite the bullet and find some kind of disgusting little creature."

"That is so unsanitary," Alice sulked.

"What difference does it make, it's not like we can get sick," Emmett argued.

"Alice, just think how happy we'll make Carlisle," Jasper told her.

"Why would that make Carlisle happy?" I asked confused.

Jasper and Edward exchanged an odd look, and then it became clear that his comment wasn't going to be explained. Stupid fucking _'need to know'_ rule.

"If you guys aren't going hunting, can you like…sit, or something?" I asked them. They were making me uncomfortable by just standing there like that; it was strange and way too distracting.

"Sure, sorry," Em said quickly. He plopped down hard making the ground shake, and I couldn't help the little laugh that escaped my lips. When he smiled back at me however, my stomach twisted and I grimaced - the expression was just far too close to my brother's for my liking.

When Em-Vamp saw my sour expression, he let his grin fade and then thankfully turned away from me.

"Try to sleep," Edward murmured to me. "The sooner you're rested, the sooner we can get moving again."

"Okay," I said with a yawn. I stretched up and kissed him tenderly on the lips_, before noticing the three vamps watching us disturbed_, and then laid my head on his lap.

I felt myself fall asleep quickly, but I was awoken sometime later to the low mumbles of Edward and Jasper's voices. I probably would have dismissed them and went back to sleep, but they were talking about something I couldn't ignore. I vaguely wondered where Emmett and Alice were, though I wasn't about to risk opening my eyes to look because I didn't want them to stop talking.

"So…do you think she's your mate?" Jasper asked curiously.

"My mate?" Edward said, with clear humor in his voice. "She's a human."

"Yeah, but I've been watching you with her, this isn't some casual physical relationship."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Edward said defensively. "She saved my life by busting me out of her village, and I brought her back to her brother in return. That's it. The sex thing…it's just something that happened along the way."

"Right, and now you're bringing her to Carlisle. Why?"

"I have my reasons."

"Edward, you haven't seen him in twelve years, why would you even think to go to him with your issues, especially after what happened. I mean, you are the one that forced him into hiding."

"What the fuck do you want me to say?" Edward asked bitterly.

"I don't know…I'm still not sure bringing you to him is a good idea. The only reason why I agreed to this, is because he asked me to tell you where he is if you ever asked -Of course, I never expected a human to be the reason why."

"You don't need to know the exact reason…But I am working on setting everything right….for Carlisle."

"For Carlisle?" Jasper asked. "So bringing the girl has something to do with helping him?"

"Of course. Why the hell else would I bring her?"

"Because you don't want to be away from her; you've formed the mating bond…whether you want to admit it or not. You're reacting to her the way only mates do."

"It's just a means to an end, Jasper."

"Sure it is."

"After Alaska, and I finish what I set out to do, then Emmett can take her back to their village."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that….Or I'll eat her…I haven't decided completely yet."

"You're not going to eat her," Em said with a humorless laugh. "You're going to let her go, and then you'll spend the rest of eternity wandering around in that empty _'I lost my mate'_ kind of depression."

"Fuck no. Jazz, she's a fucking human, for crying out loud. If she stops looking for danger, she may live a few more decades at the most. There's no way I'd waste my eternity pining after someone that's too stupid to want immortality."

"What if she did become a vampire?"

There were a few beats of silence as I felt Edward subtly caress my back with his thumb. "She won't, so it doesn't matter."

"But if she did?"

"No. I thought she should become a vampire because her brother was one and she can't really go home with her people, but no, I wouldn't want her as my mate either way. I've seen what happens to vamps that lose their mates, and I swore I'd never chance getting lost like that. Having the burden of a mate is not for me, and that's not something I'll ever change my mind on."

"Wait, you think_ I_ wanted a mate? You know I was all about bachelorhood before Alice. It kind of picks you sometimes."

"You still had to agree to it…You had to let it happen, which is something I'd never do."

"I didn't agree to shit. I was having fun fucking all the she-vamps I came across, and then I saw Alice and everything changed. Even when I was in denial, much like the way you are right now, I couldn't fight it. She was it for me, and all those other women became nothing more than asexual beings in my peripheral vision."

"Just because that's what happened to you, doesn't mean it's the same for everyone."

"Listen Edward, as you know, vampires are selfish by nature. Self first, coven second, leaders third, and everyone else can fuck themselves…But once you have a mate, she permanently inserts herself into your first priority. It's like when humans have a child, they get that parental instinct thing that sort of just consumes them, that's what it's like with mates….which is exactly what it looks like is going on with you and the girl. Your protectiveness towards her is tangible."

"Nope, you've misread me."

"I've misread you?" Jasper asked sarcastically. "Really? Want to try a new excuse, because we both know emotional climate is what I do."

"Whatever. Think what you want."

"Edward, you're my brother, I don't want you to disappear again."

"So, what's that supposed to mean?"

"I just wish you would understand that love isn't something to fear or run from."

"Love?" Edward scoffed. "You've just taken this to a whole other level. The instinct between mates is one thing, but vampires don't love. That's a human emotion."

_My chest clinched. _

"Remember what Carlisle told us - how some love is strong enough to transcend between human and vampire."

"That's not what he meant. He was talking about the love a human has for his family when he's turned, not possible love between humans and vampires."

"Love is love, Ed."

"No…Sorry, but I don't believe it," Edward said jadedly.

"We'll see," Jasper said, with a clear smirk in his voice.

"We'll see what?"

"We'll see how you feel and what you do when it's time to part ways with her. Mark my words; you'll change your tune."

A part of me really wanted to sit up and say something to him; I don't know, call him out on his lies, explain my feelings, make him understand, something…but I didn't move. The truth was that perhaps I wasn't ready. Perhaps I wasn't even sure yet. But I knew one thing for certain, I wasn't going anywhere alone with Emmett-Vamp – I wasn't going anywhere away from Edward – he'd just have to kill me first.

….

The next morning I was surprised to open my eyes to cloud cover overhead. It was the first real relief from sun that we've had, and I was grateful that my companions weren't going to be blinding the entire day; my eyes were really starting to get tired of it.

I was lying on the ground, realizing that Edward must have gotten up at some point after I had fallen back asleep, and he and the other three vamps were convened a couple of yards away. I sat up and stretched my arms with a yawn, before standing up and walking over to the vamp meeting.

"Hey what's going on?" I asked groggily.

"Emmett and Alice just returned," Edward told me.

"Where were they?"

"Ah Bella, it was the coolest thing I've ever done. You should have been there, I actually wrestled a bear!" Emmett said excitedly.

"Oh…you went hunting after all? Cool," I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. I really was happy they were out trying the animal diet, but Emmett's gusto was still hard to take sometimes – it was just too much like my brother's.

I thought I was convincing enough, but apparently I was wrong.

Emmett huffed. "Look, I get that this is going to take time, but you need to know that I'm still me. I'm your brother Bella, and I love you."

I didn't even notice that I was slowly shaking my head no until Emmett-Vamp huffed again.

"Damn it Bella, I know what this is about."

"What _what_ is about?" I asked confused.

"This…you not believing me. I remember what dad taught us. Ever since we were kids, he's spoon fed us all his beliefs about vampires, and I know you know it wasn't all true, so why can't you believe he was wrong about this also?"

"It's not about believing _him_… it's just what makes the most sense to me."

"What _do_ you believe?" Alice asked unexpectedly.

"I…I," I really didn't even want to tell them, because the truth was, I oddly didn't want to hurt any of their feelings.

So Emmett answered for me. "We were always taught that when someone becomes a vampire, they essentially die. The soul goes to heaven and a demon is placed in the new stone body. But it's not just an old wise tale that our father used to scare us, that's like…our entire religion back home, everyone believes it. So to Bella, and everyone else at our village, I'm not _me_. I can use the human me's memories, but the real Emmett is dead and I'm a completely different entity."

"Oh…well, that explains your coldness towards him," Alice said lightly.

_Coldness?_ I really thought I had been doing a good job trying to be nice…I suppose I was more transparent than I had hoped.

"Do you know what the most confusing and frustrating part of this whole thing is?" Emmett continued. "You're fucking around with a vampire. I mean, really Bella, what the hell kind of hypocrite are you?"

I glanced at Edward, and his midnight conversation with Jasper flooded my mind. His faux indifference, his insistence that I meant nothing to him, and the lie he told himself that vampires can't love – I knew I had hurt his feelings by telling him my desire to stay human, and perhaps that was the basis of his bitter view on everything, but as much as Emmett was right about my beliefs, he was wrong about a few critical aspects, and I needed Edward to understand.

"I do think you're a demon that's taken over my brother's body," I admitted to Em-Vamp. "And I do believe that's how all vampires are…including Edward….But the difference is that I never knew him as a human. I only know the demon…and that's who I love."

I couldn't believe I was actually saying the L word in reference to my vampire lover, but it was the truth. Edward was a demon, and I loved him regardless.

I turned to the very shocked looking Edward, and decided it was time to pour my heart out to him.

"I love you," I told him strongly. "I've seen the best…and worst in you, and I love you in spite of it all, and because of it. And if I could become a vampire and stay with you forever, I would…but that's not what would happen. I'd just be…gone, and in my place would be someone else…someone you may accept as me because she would have my memories, but it wouldn't be me. I'm not afraid of dying, and I know one day I will, but I want to be with you as long as possible before then. I just can't move aside to let someone else, demon or otherwise, take my place with you."

Edward and I stared at each other for an indefinable amount of time, just lost in the impact of my words. I honestly didn't expect him to say it back to me, because I knew he believed he was incapable of love, and that was ok. I didn't need to hear him say it; I just needed him to hear me say it. I needed him to know that even though I believed he was a demon, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It was just a word. The term "vampire" was just the stone body, and the "demon" part was the soul that took over when the human soul left. Sure, most of them were murderers, but that was just their species. Like lions or any other predator, they killed because it was what came naturally to them, and who was I to hate them for that?

As a human, obviously I couldn't like all vampires, but I didn't hate the species as a whole for being what they were. The only reason why I had such a hard time with Emmett-Vamp was because I missed my brother, and a part of me looked at the demon inside of him as his killer. It was an irrational thought, but I just couldn't kick it. Perhaps when the pain of losing the real Emmett subsided, I could get to know the demon inhabiting his body as a separate person. But it would take time. A lot of time.

At that moment however, Emmett-Vamp wasn't my concern. Besides ensuring the safety of my village with his loyalty, I didn't care about him whatsoever…All I cared about was Edward.

He must have finally decided how he was going to respond to my declaration, because he broke eye contact and huffed while looking anywhere but at me. "What's the point in loving something that can never love you in return?" he asked emotionlessly. "If what you believe is true, then you and I are completely incompatible. I'm going to live forever, and you…whether you're a vampire or not, are going to die." He pressed his lips and shrugged. "Sounds like loving someone like that is a waste of time."

I nodded, and embarrassingly wiped away the moisture running down my cheek. "It is a waste of time. We'll never be anything more than some mismatched pair who has casual sex all the time. I know that. And I know you don't want anything more, and that's fine….But if you really don't care either way, then I just need you to shut up about it and just…keep me for a while. A human's life span is nothing compared to yours, I doubt you'll even remember me a few centuries from now, but I…I'm going to take this time I've spent with you, and carry it with me wherever I go – heaven or otherwise. And I'm going to stay with you as long as you'll let me, because in my short life, it's really the only thing that's ever mattered."

Edward squeezed his eyes shut tightly as if he was in some sort of physical pain, and the he did the last thing I expected, he grabbed me and pulled me into him, and then kissed me. It was passionate, and angry, and the most emotionally painful act that I had ever experienced.

And then he pulled back forcefully, and turned and walked away. Like so many times before, he quickly disappeared into the great unknown, but for the first time, it honestly felt like he had ripped my heart out and taken it with him. I was left standing there feeling completely numb and hollow, and I had to wonder if this time…he wasn't going to come back at all.


	21. Going Home

Chapter 21 – Going Home

I wasn't sure how long I stood there for, just staring blankly in the direction Edward had disappeared in, but at some point Emmett placed his hand gently on my shoulder, making me jump.

"Whoa, it's ok. I'm not going to hurt you," he said quickly.

I took a deep breath. "No, I know," I told him. "I'm just…" I let my sentence trail off because I really had no idea what was going through my head at that time.

"Bella, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten on you like that. I wouldn't change my beliefs just because someone told me to either…But I'm not going to give up. I will continue to try to convince you…even if it takes the rest of your life."

I looked at him, and gave him a heavyhearted smile. "I wish more than anything that I could just believe," I said honestly. "It would be so much easier. I'd have you…and him, and I could be turned and live happily ever after. I do want that, but…"

"I know, it's hard," Em said sympathetically. "But if you really love that bronze haired freak, maybe you should take a leap of faith. I mean, I'm not saying you should become a vampire, but it wouldn't be the worst thing imaginable like you're thinking. I certainly don't want to watch you grow old and die."

"Bronze haired freak?" I asked with a giggle despite myself. It was a typical Emmett type of comment.

He shrugged. "The guy is a little off. I mean, he's all pompous and Mr. Tough Guy one minute, and the next he's pure mush. I really don't know how you keep up with his mood swings."

"Wow, I thought I was the only one who noticed that about him," I joked.

Suddenly there was a bloodcurdling scream, so Em automatically grabbed me securely and prepared to defend me from any danger. "What the fuck was that?" he asked as we both looked for the source of the horrid noise. It wasn't until that moment that I realized Jasper and Alice were nowhere in sight, so it quickly became obvious that the scream was Alice.

"What's going on?" I asked in a panic.

Em kept his arm in front of me protectively as he listened intently, and then he suddenly sighed and relaxed.

"What?"

"It's just Alice freaking out."

"Freaking out about what?" I asked anxiously.

"I don't know, something about losing her vision," he said carelessly.

"You can hear her talking?" I asked, listening carefully but hearing nothing.

"Yeah, she and Jasper are about a quarter of a mile away. They went to go look for Edward about two minutes ago, but I guess they stopped."

"But she's ok?" I asked concerned. It amazed me how loud the girl could be from so far away, but I figured that whatever the issue was, had to be pretty bad for her to risk giving away our location in that way.

"She's fine…at least physically. Everything's cool, really. Jasper is calming her down."

I started walking in the direction of the scream, but I guess that move just confused Emmett. "Where are you going?"

"I need to make sure she's ok," I said, not understanding why that wasn't obvious.

Luckily, I didn't have to go find her, because she and Jasper quickly returned, both looking a little distraught. "What happened, are you ok?" I asked Alice concerned.

She shook her head looking absolutely lost. "I can't see," she said absently.

I waved my hand in front of her open eyes, and she blinked and looked at me questioningly. "You can see," I said confused.

"I'm not actually blind, but my vision is gone. I can't see any of our futures anymore…What the hell does that mean?" she asked in a state of panic.

"Can you see anyone else's future?" Jasper asked her gently.

"I can still see the leaders'…But when we were looking for Edward, he just disappeared…and then we all disappeared."

"Well, maybe he just made some kind of stupid decision that ended up killing all of us," Emmett suggested.

Alice shook her head slightly. "I don't think so."

For a reason I couldn't tell, the three vampires turned their head towards the south at the same time. I followed their lead and looked in the same direction, but couldn't see anything…at least not at first. A minute later two figures appeared in the distance. As I tried to make out who they were, Alice, Jasper, and Emmett suddenly took an aggressive stance in front of me, leaving me even more bewildered than before. I looked towards the figures again, and was absolutely shocked by who they were.

"What the fuck is he doing?" Jasper seethed.

"Maybe he wants to see what a newborn is capable of?" Alice said.

"Hey, I know that dog," Emmett spat.

The two figures coming towards us, were none other than Edward and Jacob - walking side by side as if they weren't mortal enemies, _and I wasn't even between them making them be cordial_. What the hell was going on?

"Jacob?" I said with a forced smile when they reached us. I gave my best friend a hug, because I was beyond grateful he was ok, but I quickly pulled away and looked at him baffled. "What's going on?"

"Nice group of friends you found here," Jake said casually as all three vampires hissed at him…including Emmett, which Jacob seemed to find amusing and disturbing at the same time. "Hey there, Emmett. I'd say nice to see you, but…it's not, at least not like that."

"Oh yeah, fuck you!" Emmett snapped.

Jacob shook his head at him, and then looked back at me. "I'm sorry for your loss. I'm not sure what I thought would happen, but losing your brother like that never even entered my mind."

"Who the fuck asked you!" Em shouted at him. "You're nothing but a disgusting slobbering mangy mutt!"

Jacob ignored him; in fact, he didn't even give him a second glance. It was if my vampire brother wasn't even there at all, which actually made me feel like crap because I knew how much it probably upset him.

"Wait, is he the reason why my vision isn't working?" Alice asked slowly. "Damn it! I can't see past that disgusting flea bag!" she screamed.

"What are you doing here, Jacob?" I asked, getting suspicious of his sudden appearance. I glanced at Edward, who appeared to be wearing some kind of cold mask of indifference, and then I looked back at Jacob and waited for his answer.

"I've been tracking you…well, not you exactly, I mean, your scent disappeared a ways back – Edward said something about how you got into a car? How cool was that?" he asked excitedly. When I just glared at him instead of answering, he cleared his throat and then continued. "Well, anyway. I found my way to the mating colony easy enough, and then I waited for a couple days. Eventually I saw Edward emerge with Emmett and that other male vamp, and figured that if you were still alive, he'd be meeting you somewhere. I actually caught up last night, but decided to hold back and just watch from a distance for a while to make sure you were ok."

"Can someone call the dog catcher please!" Alice interjected.

"So…why did you come forward now?" I asked Jacob evenly. I'd always love Jacob as a friend, or even a pseudo brother, but I really wished he'd just go home. I could never return his romantic affections, and I hated hurting him.

"Look Bella, I saw Emmett vamp over there, and I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I was planning to leave after today, but then Edward woke me from the nap I was having and said you were ready to go home."

Every muscle in my body seized, and suddenly I felt like I was drowning. My vision became blurry and noises sounded like I was hearing them from underwater. But the numbing haze wasn't entirely consuming; I almost wished that it was because my chest felt like it had been ripped open and stabbed repeatedly.

The pain was too much, so instead of letting it kill me, I allowed anger to take over and fight that battle for me.

I turned to Edward and let my tears catapult my fury. "You're a fucking coward, do you know that?" I shouted at him. "I told you that I love you, and you're too fucking scared to accept it, so you're pushing me away!"

Edward shook his head slowly. "Go home, Bella."

"No, I'm not leaving you. We both agreed that I couldn't go home anyway."

"That was before, when we thought Jake went back there and told everyone about us. But obviously he didn't…and he won't. So go home!" he said sternly.

"No! Nothing's changed. I'm not leaving."

"Fine, stay here then, but I'm going…and trust me, you won't be able to keep up."

I took a deep breath, and decided on a more calmer approach. "Look, I'm sorry. I know I hurt you with my beliefs, and I hate that I did that because you're the last person I ever wanted to hurt."

"Wait, you think you hurt me?" he said with a dark laugh. "You're nothing more than a pathetic weak human. Humans can't hurt vampires! Or did your idiotic father brainwash you into thinking otherwise? And I thought the people in Texas were fucking nut cases."

"Maybe my beliefs are crazy; I wish more than anything I didn't feel that way, but I don't know how to just turn it off either."

"Go home, Bella. Jacob is here, he can safely escort you."

And of course my panic returned, making my anger take front again.

"Oh, ok, so are you still planning the fight to the death thing? Is that what comes next?" I asked condescendingly.

"Um…Actually, I'd rather not," I heard Jacob say from behind me. We all took a time out to listen to his stuttering. "I mean, I could beat him…maybe….if I was lucky, but there are a lot of vampires here, and I'd be a bit out numbered. Besides, even if it stayed one on one, Emmett knows where our village is too, so… I mean, I certainly can't take on both of them, even one at a time. I think it would be best to just go home and warn the others…Maybe we should move the village altogether."

"Well, there you go," I said, turning back to Edward. "I guess you just lost your out. You can't just let Jacob kill you, so now what are you going to do?"

"I'd never let him kill me, that's just something I told you so you wouldn't worry so much about your pet," Edward said coldly.

I shook my head at him. "So that's it then? We go our separate ways and never see each other again?" I asked bitterly. "Is that really what you want."

"The truth is, after more than a decade of solitude, I was bored and you and mutt entertained me for a while. But guess what, I'm bored again," he said coldly. "So yeah, I'm done with this and I want you to leave."

"Fine," I spat. My insides were crumbling, but I refused to show it. Being numb was better than some blubbering pathetic idiot, and I absolutely refused humiliate myself any more than I already had by begging or any of the desperate pathetic urges I had at the moment. So I turned to my debatable brother, and said my goodbyes. "Take care of yourself out there," I told him with a forced smile.

"Wait, what?" Emmett asked confused. "No way, I'm going with you."

"No, you can't Em. The wolves back home would kill you, and even if they trusted you enough to let you go, you couldn't stay there," I tried reasoning with him. "You belong with them…Your gifted, so you can be a Cullen."

Emmett scowled and then looked at the vampires to the side of him, before quickly looking back at me. "Nope. I'm staying with you. I'll just stay out of the wolves' territory and spend the rest of eternity just hunting in the woods alone. I'll hang around in case trouble ever threatens the people," he said somberly.

And even though I couldn't force my beliefs to change so quickly, I stepped forward and placed my hand gently on his cheek. I wasn't afraid of him, and whether he was my brother or not, it seemed as though he had a way of growing on me. "You're going to be fine," I told him softly. "You'll find your place somewhere…Maybe you'll find a mate."

He shook his head, and then pulled my hand from his face but kept it securely in his grasp. "I've always protected you. That's who I am, and I don't know how to be anything else. As long as you're alive, I'm going to be around."

I pressed my lips and forced another smile. "Well, I guess I came all this way with a vamp and a wolf, might as well go back home the same way," I said with a sigh. So Emmett and I took a moment to say goodbye to Jasper and Alice. Edward sulked in the distance, and I did my best not to look at him. _I couldn't break down…I wouldn't._

"You guys ready?" I asked my two pseudo brothers.

"Lets head west," Jacob said excitedly. The three of us walked away from the Cullens, and none of us looked back. We'd probably never see them again, but I suppose that was just the way things were, and there was nothing to do about it.

We walked for two or three miles with me in the lead, and Emmett and Jacob bickering behind me...

"Damn Jacob, have you always stunk like this, or did you roll around in manure and get skunked for my benefit?" Em asked him.

"You should talk. You smell like a fucking leech…oh wait, maybe because you are one. Bella, we're not really bringing this demon home, are we?"

"Do you want to fight him to the death, Jake?" I asked absently.

"Uh…no."

"You better say no, because I'd rip your fucking howler out," Em threatened.

"You know what, you just proved the fact that vamps lose their human souls," Jake said unexpectedly, making me freeze in place. "I mean, I was starting to have my doubts because…well, how the hell did that Edward freak not kill Bella all that time, especially when they started…you know. A soulless demon would never care enough to do that, but now you've proven the opposite."

"How has he proven that?" I asked slowly.

"Yeah, how have I proven that?" Em echoed.

"Because, you're a fucking prick. The old Emmett and I used to be friends, now all you want to do is kill me."

"Don't flatter yourself, it's instinctual, I can't help it," Emmett grumbled.

"No, the real Emmett would have been strong enough to rise above instincts," Jacob argued.

"You're not dead, are you," Em seethed. "If I didn't care, I would have killed you already."

Emmett and Jake began walking again, but when they passed me and I didn't move, they stopped and looked at me questionably.

"We're not going home, are we?" Jake assumed.

"I think that's a good decision," Em agreed. "Dad would seriously be pissed if he knew about me. I say we get a boat and see what's across the Atlantic. I mean, what the hell is over there?"

"Europe," Jake stated, as if Em was a moron.

"Shut up!" Em snapped at him. "I know what the geography is, I just wonder if the world is as fucked up there as it is here. Maybe we could find some humans for Bella that don't have a rational fear of vampires, and would be ok with me hanging around for the next century."

"You're an idiot," Jake told him.

"You know Jacob, I don't hate you because we have a past and all, but you're really starting to get on my last nerve. Jasper said newborns are unpredictable, so maybe you should stop antagonizing me," Em warned.

They continued bickering, but I stopped listening to them. In fact, I stopped hearing the world around me completely, and my sight went fuzzy. Everything began spinning, and suddenly, without even deciding to do so, I had turned around and began running in the direction we came in. I ran as fast as humanly possible for the entire way back to where we left the Cullens, but I never felt the pain of exertion. I was in some strange daze and I had no idea what I was even hoping to accomplish, but when the three vampires came into view, my vision became clear again.

None of them had moved. They were in the exact same positions we had left them in an hour before, but when I zeroed in on Edward he had a strange mix of anger and relief written all over his face. I didn't care. He could push me away, or decide it was easier to kill me, or whatever the hell he wanted, but I just needed to be in his arms one more time…so I slammed right into him at full speed.

I hit his stone body with an audible clunk, but I ignored the pain of impact as I clung to him for dear life. I suppose I wasn't past desperate begging the way I thought I was, but when I opened my mouth to start pleading for him to keep me, he leaned over and planted his lips to mine.

His lips began moving with frenzied passion as our kiss deepened into the neediest one yet.

"What the fuck just happened?" I vaguely heard one of the guys say from somewhere out of the bubble Edward and I were in. But all outside sounds quickly faded away, and Edward and I were left floating in a world where nothing else mattered.

"Take me somewhere," I mumbled into his mouth.

He didn't answer me verbally, he just held me tightly against him and whisked me away. When we came to a stop, I didn't even look around to see where we were, I just immediately went for the hem of his shirt, and pulled it over his head. We both scrambled to get undressed completely, and then he laid me on the ground quickly but gently.

He couldn't get inside of me fast enough, and when that connection was made, I felt like everything finally made sense in the senseless world. I had planned to go home, and that's exactly where I was. I belonged with Edward, whether it was only for a few minutes, or for the rest of forever. It didn't really matter how long we were together for, we were together right then, and that's all I cared about.

We held each other so tightly that it was impossible to get any closer, and as he thrust into me, he varied his pace between slow and tender, to hard and desperate. We both put everything we had into those moments, and even if it would never be enough, we were temporarily satisfied as we came undone together.

He rode out our climax with continued thrusts, but when he slowed to a stop, he just stayed inside of me and rested his head against mine. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, almost incoherently.

I ran my hands through his hair and then down his neck, between his shoulders, and continued down the length of his back. "Edward," I whispered. "Please…just keep me."

"It'll be over too soon," he said softly.

I rubbed my hands back up his torso, and let them come to a rest at the nape of his neck. "Just give me…two years," I asked, coming up with the idea at the same time I was speaking it. "Two years to be…like this. You were twenty one when you turned, so…I'll be close to that then."

"But -" he was about to argue, but I cut him off.

"Two years," I repeated. "It's longer than I expected to live anyway, so if becoming a vampire kills me, then you'll still have the whole demon me chick…and if Emmett is right, and the soul never leaves, then we'll be together forever. Just give me two years."

He sighed, and then kissed me on the forehead. "Do you honestly think I wouldn't know the difference if you were replaced?"

"It wouldn't be her fault, so you'll just have to love her regardless."

He smiled at me and shook his head. "I'll never love anyone other than you."


	22. Opposing Species

Chapter 22 – Opposing Species

I must have fallen asleep, not that I was surprised with all the running and draining vamp sex, because the next thing I knew it was pitch black out…and strangely cool.

I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or closed, so I sat up and looked around hoping my eyes would adjust and focus on something.

"Everything is okay," Edward assured me gently.

I reached into the darkness, and when I easily felt his face with my hand, I relaxed. "Why is it so dark?" I asked when I adjusted myself so that I was lying across his bare chest again.

"Cloud cover," he explained as he caressed the skin on my back with his fingertips. "The moon can't break through it."

"It's a little cooler too. Are we going to run into some bad weather?" I asked concerned.

"Wouldn't surprise me. Fall in the east can get a little wet."

"But we're going north-west, right?" I asked, wishing he'd just come clean about his plans.

"Yeah, but at this speed, plus taking the nights for you to rest, it's going to be a while before we get there. Besides, the north-west is just going to be wetter."

"Is it really going to take a year to get to wherever we're going?" I asked wearily, though it wasn't like we had anywhere else to be.

"It's pretty far."

"I suppose Alaska and Florida couldn't really get much further as far as the former US is concerned," I said lightly.

"Former US?"

"Without a governing body, human boundaries don't really exist anymore, right?"

"I suppose not. How do you know we're heading to Alaska?" he asked surprised.

"I heard you and Jasper talking about it last night," I admitted sheepishly.

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough," I told him. "But listen; if you're going to change me in a couple years, I want a commitment from you. No more of this- _'mates aren't for me', 'it's just a means to an end'_ -crap."

He laughed. "I have no excuses for that. Serves you right for eavesdropping."

I turned my head and kissed his chest - I may have even licked him a little, but I wasn't going to admit it. "You do have an excuse, you were scared."

"I'm not scared of anything," he argued lightly.

"Yeah you are." I sat up and straddled his waist, and then I searched through the dark for his hardness. When I found what I was looking for, I grabbed a hold of it and repositioning myself so I could sink down on him. "You are scared of loving anyone," I said before beginning to move my pelvis.

Edward's hands traced up my legs to my hips, and started enhancing my movements with a gentle push and pull action. "Vampires don't love," he said absently.

I leaned forward and rested my weight on my hands, pushing against his chest. "You already admitted that you love me, you can't take it back."

He grunted from the change in direction my hips were moving. "No, I said I could never love anyone other than you…that doesn't mean I actually love you," he said like a smartass. "But maybe if I could love, I'd love you…maybe."

"Well maybe I should stop fucking you then…I mean, why would you buy the cow if you could have the milk for free."

"Do you lactate?" he joked. "I bet mutt would like that."

"Ugh!" I said after he completely crossed the line. I pulled off of him, but of course he didn't like that too much.

"No, no, no, I was joking," he said, practically begging me to come back.

"I really don't appreciate you talking about Jake while we're having sex; it sure as hell is a mood killer."

"Ok, I know, I'm sorry. Come back." When I didn't move, he huffed and said – "What if I told you that you're completely right? That I'm just scared of losing you, so I've tried to push you away even though I love you more than I've ever loved anything in my vampire and human lives combined?"

I smiled triumphantly as my heart felt like it was melting, but I still didn't move.

"What else do you want me to say?" he asked, getting frustrated.

"Nothing," I sniffled. "It's just too dark and I don't know where you are."

He chuckled and mumbled something about weak human eyes, and then I felt his cold hand around my wrist as he pulled me back over to him so we could finish what we started.

After having sex for a third time, Edward insisted that I go back to sleep, so I complied and woke up again to another cloud covered morning.

"We should get moving," Edward said when he noticed that I was awake. "I'm sure Maria is pissed by our absence by now, she's probably sending Felix and Demetri out after us as we speak."

"Is there time to have sex again first?" I asked hopefully.

"There's always time for that," he said before practically attacking me in the most amazing round four we ever had.

But we couldn't stall our return any longer, so we got redressed and then walked back to the others…well, Edward walked, I climbed on his back and let him carry me.

"Finally!" Alice snapped when we came into view. "We really need to get some distance in between us and Florida."

"Did you have a vision?" I asked concerned from the safety of Edward's back. I didn't plan on getting down for a while, not because I was tired, but because I just wanted to stay close to him. He definitely wasn't complaining, even though it was a rather awkward position to be in seeing how they all probably figured we were away having sex. Emmett and Jacob both seemed particularly disturbed by our current position, not that I cared.

"No, I didn't have a vision, and I won't until the mutt over there leaves!"

I guess she had a point. I grudgingly slid down from Edward's back so I could talk to my best friend. "Jake, I really appreciate you coming with me to save my brother, and I don't want to hurt you anymore, but I have to be honest with my heart. I'm staying with Edward…and we're going to Alaska. I'm not exactly sure why at this point, but if that's where he's going, I am too….and I assume that means Em is as well."

"Yep," Emmett agreed.

"You'll always be my best friend," I told him gently. "And I'll never forget what you did for me."

Jake nodded. "So…I'm going to have to challenge three vamps to the death, huh?"

"What does that mean?" I asked unsure.

"Oh come on, Bella; you're choosing to live with a bunch of vampires, it's only a matter of time before you're changed. Then I'll have three vamps that know the location of our village."

"Damn it mutt, I told you, the people are safe from us!" Em said frustrated.

"Yeah, well who knows what demon will take over Bella's body after Edward stops sucking his venom out of her."

I rolled my eyes, Edward huffed irritated, but Emmett quickly became livid. "What?" he asked Edward. "What the hell is he talking about _'stops sucking the venom out'_?"

"Oh, you didn't know that Bella was Edward's own personal blood bank?" Jacob asked sourly.

"Did anyone bring a muzzle for the mutt?" Alice asked randomly.

"You've been biting my sister?" Emmett fumed.

"Ok, calm down," Jasper tried intervening.

"Don't even use your mood control shit on me, Jazz; I'm pissed, and I have every right to be," Emmett told him.

"You do have every right to be pissed at anyone taking advantage of your sister," Edward told him calmly. "And I have bitten her…a few times…but it wasn't just to drink her blood. It was a kinky sex thing, which is none of yours or anyone else's business, and I certainly don't feel the need to elaborate."

Emmett's face scrunched in disgust, and if I didn't know any better, I would have thought he almost looked sick. He glanced at me for conformation of Edward's claim, so I shrugged and nodded, which only made Emmett that much more grossed out, but thankfully, he wasn't mad anymore, at least not at Edward.

"Dude, what the fuck are you getting into their personal business for?" Emmett asked Jacob angrily.

"Wha…Seriously?" Jake asked him incredulously. "You're just ok with that?"

"Edward is right, it's none of our fucking business; she doesn't look like she's suffering at all, and the fact that she's obviously in love with him just further proves it. She's an adult, and she gave herself willingly to him, so there's nothing to be done about it. Seriously man, you need to move on with your life, she's not going to marry you."

"I know she's not!" Jake said bitterly. "But I don't want her to kill herself for him either."

"Becoming a vampire doesn't kill the soul!" Emmett practically shouted at him. "I'm still me, and if Bella decides to get turned, she'll still be her."

"Speaking of which, I've decided that in two years, I'll do it," I told Emmett, knowing it would make him happy, but more importantly, I was hoping for a different conversation tone. I really was tired of all the bickering, and it was time to get past it all.

"Really? So you believe that I'm _me_?" Em asked excitedly.

"Um…yeah," I said semi-honestly. I wanted to believe more than anything - but I still had my doubts, so it was only a half truth.

"You're not sure, but you're taking the leap of faith?" he assumed.

"Exactly," I said, grateful he understood.

"But why two years?" he questioned. "We could move a lot faster if you were a vamp now."

"Um…" I didn't know how to answer that.

"Because you're not ready yet…You're still hoping for some kind of sign that will make you believe completely?" he guessed.

"Ok, Em, you are being way too perceptive, so let's just drop it for now, ok?" I asked with a laugh. "I'm going to be a vampire in two years, that's all we need to focus on."

"Cool…Oh, since we're going to Alaska, did you want to say goodbye to dad? I mean, Washington could be on our way."

I shook my head no. "It doesn't have anything to do with dad. It's just what I need to do," I told him.

"Well, at least you'll have time to change your mind," Jacob mumbled.

I huffed. "I'm not going to change my mind Jake. This is what I want."

"Even if you don't actually believe in it? Even if you honestly feel it'll be killing you. Look me in the eye and tell me you don't feel that way," Jake demanded.

I shook my head. "I don't know what I believe anymore. And I am scared," I admitted, but then I looked over at Edward. "But I'm more scared of not doing it and potentially missing out on what could be an amazing forever. It's definitely going to be a leap of faith like Em said, and I want a little more time, but I'm not going to change my mind."

Jake shook his head in angry disbelief. "It's suicide."

"It's my choice."

"And what the hell am I supposed to tell Charlie? You really expect me to go back to the biggest vampire hater in the world, and tell him that both of his kids are vamps?"

I shrugged. "I can't worry about that. I have to live my life the way I want to live. I love Edward, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to stay with him."

"But you won't be with him, you'll be dead," he tried convincing me.

"Ok, that's enough," Edward told him strongly. "You're just upsetting her - is that what you're trying to do? I thought you were her friend."

"Not if she's going to willingly become a vampire. At least Emmett didn't seem to have a choice."

"Then maybe you should just go home and leave her alone."

"Fine. Maybe you're right," he said emotionally before looking back at me. "Have a good afterlife."

I hated how much pain he was in, but as he turned to leave, I knew it was the best thing for everyone. He didn't belong with a bunch of vampires, and in a couple of years, that was exactly what we'd be.

I didn't really feel like standing there and watching him leave so brokenheartedly, so I was about to tell everyone that we should get moving again, but then Edward suddenly cocked his head to the side and looked to be listening to something.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"A voice….well, not a voice-voice, a mental voice; someone is watching us," he said slowly. "Wait, there's more than one."

"Where?" Jasper asked quickly.

"There," Edward said, pointing north. "In that thicket."

"A vampire?" Em asked.

"Ugh! I hate not having my vision!" Alice complained.

"Emmett, get Bella, they're going to attack us!" Edward shouted, and then the vampires were in a blur of motion. Emmett grabbed me protectively, while Edward and the Cullens got into defensive positions in front of us. Jacob just looked at them confused, and seemed to be considering whether or not he should fight alongside of them.

"Holy shit!" Emmett muttered with a mix of fear and excitement as he saw our opponents. They were too far away for my pathetic eyes to see at first, and when they did get closer, they moved so fast that I still couldn't make them out. Edward and the Cullens charged them, but all I could see was a blur of color as they ran towards each other.

"Who is it?" I asked Emmett in a panic.

"Not who," Em said absently. He suddenly turned to Jacob. "They're going to get butchered, dog."

Jake shook his head slowly. "I don't know them," he stated, and that's when I finally understood. It was wolves…just not wolves from our village.

As the fighting ensued, their movements weren't as fast so I was able to make out some of what was happening. There were two wolves; Jasper and Alice both took on the larger - more vicious one, while Edward was fighting the smaller one and appeared to be just trying to defend himself as opposed to killing it.

Jacob must have changed his mind about not getting involved, because without warning he erupted into his own wolf and ran to get between Jasper, Alice, and the more hostile wolf. Jacob and the wolf wrestled around aggressively, snarling and chomping at each other's hides, while Jasper and Alice went to go help Edward.

"No stop, I have him!" Edward shouted at them. Edward somehow got his arms around the smaller wolf, and was strangely trying to restrain it as he spoke quickly in its ear.

"What is he telling it?" I asked Emmett, hoping he could hear.

"I'm not sure," he replied.

And then Edward let the wolf go, and thankfully it stopped attacking. Edward continued to speak to it in low hushed tones, but it seemed the wolf had completely surrendered. "Keep him down, I'm going to go help Jacob," he told Jasper.

But Jake's need for help strangely ended as he and the other wolf stared at each other in some odd trance like gaze.

Edward stood and watched them for a minute, before finally walking back to us.

"Are you okay?" I asked him concerned, checking him over for any injuries.

"I'm fine," he said casually. "I told you, shape-shifters aren't a problem."

I laughed once. "I think you already proved that when you took Jake down before." I kissed him quickly, and then we both looked back to the wolves. "What's going on?" I asked as we watched Jacob bowing down to the wolf he had been fighting, and whimpering. "Is he hurt?"

Edward laughed again. "Just his pride."

"What do you mean?" I asked confused. I glanced at Jacob wolf, and he was actually rolling around on his back like a playful dog. _What the fuck was happening?_

"Jacob is in love," Edward said unexpectedly.

"Huh?" Em and I said at the same time. "Wait he imprinted?" I asked.

"Wait, he's gay?" Emmett asked.

"No, that's a she-wolf," Edward told us.

"A she-wolf? There's no she-wolfs," Em said absently.

"I guess there's at least one," Edward replied lightly. "From what I heard in their minds, the smaller wolf is her fifteen year old little brother. The two have been on their own in wolf form since their parents were killed with the rest of their tribe during the take-over. They've been attacking any vampires they come across, and we just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Of course, we are the largest group of vamps they've seen thus far, so I'm surprised they decided to attack at all."

"So…what are they doing now?" Em asked confused. We all looked at the scene in front of us, and I almost had to laugh. Jake kept nuzzling the grey she-wolf, and she appeared to be slightly resistant, while Jasper and Alice were still watching the smaller wolf intently, trying to make sure it was done attacking.

"Jacob is trying to convince the female to phase into a human, but it's been far too long since they've done so, and she's not entirely convinced we're not a threat. He's explaining everything, showing her his memories and such, but she's wary."

"So they're attached mentally?" Emmett asked.

"They weren't at first, but the moment Jake fell in love the connection was made. It's actually quite amusing," Edward explained.

Jasper and Alice must have finally been satisfied with the wolves' cease fire, because they finally walked back over to us.

"Since the dogs are all happy now, can we go?" Alice asked impatiently.

"I think that's a good idea," I told them, actually feeling legitimately light and happy for the first time in a while. Jake's crush on me had been nothing but annoying stress, and I was beyond thrilled that it seemed to be over once and for all.

"You're the boss," Edward said to me, bending his knees slightly so I could climb onto his back. When I was securely in position, I kissed the back of his neck and squeezed him tightly as he began walking.

"See-ya, Jake," I said, not expecting a response but surprisingly getting one anyway. He perked his head up in my direction and snorted at me. "Good luck," I told him, wondering if I was ever going to see him again. But I wasn't about to stop for some dramatic goodbye, it was time to move forward and concentrate on the journey ahead.

But it wasn't long before I realized we were being followed.

"Um…" I said, wondering why Edward hadn't noticed the three wolves trailing us.

"I know they're back there," Edward said evenly. "I'm just hoping they'll get the hint and leave."

"Fuck Jacob, leave us the hell alone!" Em yelled back at him.

"It's not him," Edward said quickly. "It's the younger wolf. He thinks he owes me something because I saved his life. I guess that was part of their tribe culture; a life for a life. He's intent on following me around until he saves my life, and his sister will follow him, and Jacob will follow his sister."

"When did you save him?" Jasper asked confused.

"Saved him, spared him, same difference. But this is sure as hell going to get old. It was bad enough having Jacob around all the time, now we have three."

"Damn it!" Alice whined. "Why couldn't you have just snapped his neck?"

Jasper and Edward chuckled, though Emmett seemed to agree with her.

"Actually, having them following us might be a good thing," Jasper told her. "Their stench could cover our trail making us difficult to track."

"But it's sure as hell not helping my vision," Alice pouted.

So as we continued our way towards Alaska, we became an odd convoy of opposing species; four vampires, three wolves, and a human. It was definitely not what I was expecting when we set out on that journey, but luckily, there wasn't any more internal squabbling in our group. The wolves stayed in animal form and followed at a distance, allowing us to thankfully travel the next stretch in peace.

But in a world like that, the peace certainly couldn't last long. It strangely felt like we were in _the eye of the storm_, and even though I hated to think it, I knew things were going to get rough again far too soon.

* * *

*****A/N: So usually I hate straying from canon parings, but I always did like the Jacob/Leah combo. Sorry if it upsets anyone, all other couples will remain traditional :)**


	23. Cutting Time

Chapter 23 – Cutting Time

"So, Jake…did you fuck her…_doggy_ style?" Emmett teased with a sadistic grin as we walked one morning. We had been traveling together for several days without incident, but the previous evening, when Edward and I went off for our nightly alone time, Jake and his imprintee Leah decided her little brother Seth was safe enough without them while they had some alone time of their own.

Jake-wolf bared his fangs at Em, but didn't respond any further.

"Can I ask you something?" Seth asked as he skipped after Edward like a little lost puppy.

"No," Edward told him.

"How old are you?" he asked regardless. Seth had phased into a human in front of us for the first time three days before, and he was so excited about it that he hadn't stopped talking since. Although, it was hard to take him seriously with Edward's over-shirt tied around him so that his genitals were covered - he looked like some wild jungle boy, or something. Of course, it was almost as hard to concentrate on anything Edward said since he was wearing a thin white tank that clung to his perfect body and showed off his muscular shoulders. God, he was sexy. I was only grateful he was already mine; otherwise I'd spend all my time lusting after him.

"Old enough," Edward told him evenly.

"What were you like when you were a human?" Seth continued, unfazed by Edward's lack of interest.

"I was a serial killer with a thing for teen boys," Edward deadpanned.

Seth looked at him horrified, but then he shook his head and smiled. "Nah, you're just joking."

"You sure?" Edward asked him.

Seth's face fell, and he decided to stop talking for a while.

…

The further north-west we got, the worse the weather became. It wasn't really cold, but the rain was a nuisance and quickly became miserable, though none of my companions seemed to be suffering with me.

"I like the rain," Seth said happily. "It's refreshing, and worlds better than the bright heat of the sun."

I was back on Edward's back, and kept my head down to try to shield my face, but nothing really seemed to help.

"I think we should find some shelter," Edward told the others after noticing my discomfort.

"Where?" Alice said while looking around at the nothingness that surrounded us.

"I have an idea," Em offered, and before he could even voice it, Edward was complimenting him.

"That's perfect!" Edward said enthusiastically. "Where did you see it?"

"A few miles back…but I figured there was no way to get it moving so I didn't mention anything," Emmett told him.

"It has to be pretty old, but I'm sure I can figure out how to fix it up," Edward told him.

"Wait, what are we talking about?" Jasper asked.

"A motorhome," Edward said quickly.

"What's a motorhome?" I asked.

"That would be a good idea," Jasper said, ignoring my question. "There are several working gas stations that I know of; if we could fill up a bunch of containers we wouldn't even have to stop again."

"Why would vampires maintain gas stations?" Emmett asked confused.

"They still use cars," Alice told him. "Not too often, but enough to keep a few stations."

"But won't that draw too much attention to us?" Emmett asked.

"No, we'll take rural roads that vamps never use," Jasper said. "Let's split up. Jacob and I will go get the jugs of gas so that his scent can mask mine; Edward, Emmett, and Seth, go get the motorhome. The girls can wait here."

"That's awfully sexist," Alice complained, and it seemed as though Leah wolf agreed.

"Whatever, it's still the best arrangement," Emmett agreed with Jasper.

Alice probably wanted to argue, but she just sighed. "I didn't really want to go anyway."

"Ok, what's a motorhome?" I nearly shouted since none of them were paying any attention to me.

"It's a camping luxury some humans had before the takeover," Edward explained. "It's got all the comforts of home - kitchen, bathroom, beds."

"And it drives like a car?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, if we can get the thing running again, it's going to be great for us. It'll cut our travel time significantly, and allow you and the wolves to rest whenever you need while keeping you out of the rain."

All of the guys quickly disappeared as they headed to wherever they were going, and I couldn't help but be excited about it, but we three _inferior_ females had nothing to do but sit there and wait for them to return. Thankfully, the rain had slowed to just an annoying drizzle, so I tried to think of some small talk to keep my mind off of it.

"So, what's Carlisle like?" I asked Alice.

She smiled fondly. "He's the best person I know…Well, he's a vampire, but you know what I mean. But he's my dad and I am biased."

"He's your biological father?"

"Well it was his venom that created me, so I guess in a way. But no, technically he's not by mortal bio dad, but I don't remember that guy anyway so…"

"I heard Jasper and Edward mentioning something about him being in hiding?" I questioned her, hoping she'd explain but figuring she probably wouldn't.

Thankfully, she seemed to be in a strangely forthcoming mood. "Carlisle did something deemed uncouth in vampire society, and when the leaders found out, they charged him with high treason and ordered his execution. Now, he's a proud man and hated to run, but he was working on a project that he refused to give up on so he went and stayed with some friends of ours in Alaska. Of course, with him being the head of the Cullen division, the leaders wanted to keep everything hush-hush out of fear that the population could possibly turn on them."

"Turn on the leaders? Why would they do that?"

"Because we handle most of the major issues of the world. They have the guard, but we're the gifted ones and the most widely respected. But even more importantly, the leaders didn't want us as enemies, so they settled on Carlisle's banishment instead. As long as he keeps his distance, and we continue to be of use to them, they'll leave him alone."

"So…what did Edward have to do with any of it?" I asked. "I heard Jasper say that it was his fault."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "I think I've already told you more than you need to know. If Edward wants you to know more, he'll be the one to explain."

_Shit._ I finally got her talking, and then she stopped out of nowhere. But I suppose she was right, Edward probably wouldn't want her saying anything to me at all, and I certainly didn't want him getting pissed at her because I was overly nosey.

So I decided to try to talk to Leah instead, of course, with her refusing to phase into a human, it was sure to be a one-sided conversation. I settled for telling her all of Jacob's annoying habits. It may have been a little mean of me, but it was only fair with all the crap he gave me when I chose my lover.

"I'm sure you've already noticed this, but he farts…a lot, and don't let him eat beans and then sleep next to you, because there is no way you'll survive the evening. He used to eat them for breakfast and then fall asleep in school and make the whole class suffer. And his snoring is beyond irritating…"

I continued speaking, though I wasn't sure if she was listening or not; she seemed a little cold, and I completely understood. She had been in a rough world, solely raising her brother and trying to protect and train him to fight at the same time. They were slightly different than the shape shifters from our village; they phased much younger and seemed to be aging normally, which had to have made things easier and harder at the same time. I honestly felt for her, and was glad she and Seth would have a home again in Washington when they finally decided to go.

A couple of hours later, we felt the ground begin to vibrate as a big moving thing drove towards us. It was actually an amazing sight, and I couldn't help but wonder what other kinds of fantastic luxuries humans had before their world ended.

The motorhome stopped right in front of us, and the door was swung open by a smiling-fully dressed-Seth. "Hurry in, this thing is awesome!"

Alice and I both grinned as we got in and saw Jasper behind the wheel, and Edward and Emmett at a table thing trying to arrange some supposed jugs of gas so they'd fit underneath. I was surprised to see Jacob inside as well, finally in human form again and also dressed in new clothes, but when he saw Leah-wolf hanging back, he sighed and went out to talk to her.

"This is really neat," I said as I looked around.

"Yeah, and it's fully stocked for you!" Emmett told me excitedly.

"We raided an old food store and took everything that wasn't spoiled!" Seth added.

"But the food is for _Bella_," Emmett told the kid sternly.

"Emmett, they need to eat too," I told him.

"They're animals, they can hunt."

I rolled my eyes. "And I'm still probably the best hunter here. It's fine Seth, help yourself."

Em grumbled something under his breath, but I wasn't going to worry about it.

"There's also some clean clothes and soap in the bathroom if you want to get washed up," Edward told me.

"Really?" I asked, not wasting anytime and heading straight in to get clean. I was in desperate need of a shower, and I actually felt sorry for Edward that he had to deal with my stench when we had sex…not that he seemed to mind.

Despite the constant state of wetness I had been living in since the rain had started, the water felt amazing. It just dribbled so it took a while to get the soap out, but that was more than fine by me. But the best part of it by far was the fact that there was a razor in there; I had shaved at the colony, but I was long past poky stubbles, and I was grateful to have a way to de-hair myself once again. The bathroom was also stocked with toilet paper and toothbrushes, both of which were also a welcomed relief.

At some point I felt the motorhome moving and fell against the wall of the tiny bathroom, but it was actually kind of fun in a way.

When I finally finished pampering myself, I went out and was surprised to see a dark haired woman sitting as far away from the vampires as possible. She looked tense and uncomfortable, but Jake stayed close to her and kept his hand on her wrist reassuringly. We had already sort of met, but I decided to go introduce myself regardless.

"Hi, I'm Bella," I said with a smile.

"Yes, I know, you're the dumb broad that's in love with a vampire," Leah said coldly.

"That's me," I said unfazed. I decided to leave her alone, so I went to go sit with Edward, Emmett, and Seth. Alice was in the front seat while Jasper drove, so the four of us sat on the table seats and talked casually for a while.

"Hey, let's play a game," Seth said while jumping up and going to a cabinet adjacent to us. Edward and Emmett both groaned.

"Oh, humor the kid," I chided them.

"Let's play teams," Seth suggested. "Edward and me, versus the Swans."

"How did you know that was our last name?" I asked surprised.

"Heard it in Jake's mind. Damn, that guy is annoying," Seth said while looking to Edward, desperate for his approval.

Edward shot him a deadly glare, so Seth cowered a bit, but then Edward finally gave him a break and actually laughed. "I'm just fucking with you, kid."

"Oh…I know," he said with a forced grin.

Edward wasn't exactly happy about playing against me, but it was definitely better than putting Seth and Em on the same team; Edward may have been joking with his annoyance towards Seth, but Emmett wasn't in the least, and I wasn't willing to risk Seth's safety with Em's limited newborn self-control.

The cabinet was full of games, and even though none of us knew how to play any of them, the directions were there so we all quickly caught on. We played everything from Scrabble to Monopoly, with the century old vamp winning it all, but the most hilarious thing I had ever seen, was watching him play Pictionary. Seth's horrible stick figures next to Edward's elaborate detailed drawings made it pretty difficult for them to work together; Em and I, on the other hand, were perfectly in sync and easily nabbed the victory for once.

"Who's the loser now, bitch!" Em gloated while bouncing around the motorhome. Alice and Jasper giggled at him from the front, and even Jake cracked a half smile.

"Dude, knock it off, you're going to flip us," Edward said bitterly as Emmett's movements caused the entire motorhome to sway.

"Ah, don't like to lose, do you, old man?" Em continued.

"Hey, you're old compared to me," Seth defended Edward.

"Not that much. I mean, really Bella, it is kind of gross that you're dating such an old dude. He'd be long dead by now if he wasn't turned."

"Well, good thing he was turned then, huh," I said before climbing over the table to get to Edward.

"Hey, wouldn't it have been funny if Edward knew our ancestors?" Em said. "Maybe he even fucked our great-great-great grandmother."

Edward and I both scrunched our faces at my idiot of a brother-vamp. "No, that would have been gross," I told him.

"Yeah, totally gross," Seth readily agreed. His unyielding attempts for Edward's affections had leaked out to me since we were a couple, which I actually didn't mind. Having someone always agreeing with me couldn't possibly be a bad thing.

"It would be especially gross if he knocked up some chick back then, which just happened to be your great-great grandmother…I mean, you guys could be related," Jacob said out of nowhere. "Of course, it wouldn't really be incest because he's a different person completely and his body is now made of stone…but still creepy."

We all just stared at him disgusted for a minute, and then – "Who the hell asked you to talk?" Em asked him. "Damn, you always know how to screw with a good vibe."

"I was joking," Jake replied. "Why the hell is it ok for you to joke about it, but not me?"

"Because I wasn't talking about potential incest, freak, and she's my sister so I'm allowed to make fun of her. No one is allowed to talk crap to her _but_ me. Got it?" Em said forcefully.

"Emmett, it's fine," I tried assuring him. "You know how Jake likes to kid around like that. No harm done."

"Okay, I think we all need a break," Edward said, obviously trying to diffuse Em's newborn temper. "Jasper, will you pull over for a bit?"

"Gladly," Jasper said while quickly bringing the thing to a stop. "We should probably refuel anyway."

None of us could get out of the motorhome fast enough. It was big, but with so many different species on board it was definitely overcrowded.

"Reconvene in three hours," Edward told everyone as they all went their separate ways. The wolves went to go stretch and hunt, as did the vampires, I only hoped they didn't cross paths while doing so.

"Aren't you going to go find some little animals to drain too?" I asked Edward when we were left alone.

"Why spoil my appetite," he said while looking at me hungrily.

I grinned at his devilish smirk. "Are you going to bite me?"

"Well, I have to. I only have two years of your amazing blood left, can't go around wasting any more of that precious time."

I giggled as he attacked me, and somehow we ended up in the little bedroom in the back of the motorhome. My clothes shredded to the ground, and I was instantly covered with nothing other than the gloriousness of Edward's naked form. As he pounded into me, I finally got what I had been wanting - a nice fresh bite to the neck. He didn't really drink my blood like before, he just let it pool in his mouth with his teeth firmly locked in my flesh while he continued to thrust. I could feel my hot blood spilling out of his mouth and trailing down the back side of my neck to the pillow below my head, and because of the masochist that I was, the thought of it just sent orgasmic pulses through every inch of me.

A small part of me wished I could hurt him in some way, just so he could feel how amazing it actually felt in that situation. But then I remembered him saying that keeping himself from draining me completely was hard and painful, and I smiled to myself by the fact we were both the cause of the other's pain. _Yeah, I was definitely a wacko of sorts_. But there was a fine line between all emotions, and great pain was right up there with great love, so in my own crazy way, that made sense.

After we both reached an explosive climax, he pulled out of me in more ways than one, but he wasn't finished with me just yet. He slowly began licking up the spilled blood on my skin, sending me into another intense wave of desire. Other than the pain, there was just something incredibly alluring about the idea of my fluids of any kind going into him – girls had guy's fluids inside them all the time during sex, so it was a huge turn on for the opposite. It was a connection to the utmost degree, and I knew that was definitely going to be something I missed after I was turned.

"What's your last name?" I asked, semi-absently as I finally came down from the high. We were peacefully making great use of what was left of our time alone by having some much needed cuddling, but like so often before, that was when my brain started working in overdrive with questions.

"Cullen," he answered easily.

"No, the name you used to go by as a human."

"Edward."

"No, your last name….You know, your father's name - the one you wanted to pass down."

"My father was Edward as well."

"Yes, but Edward what?" I asked slightly irritated, though I wasn't exactly sure why I wanted to know so badly. Perhaps it was my continuous pursuit of the belief that I would always be me, so the more Edward talked about the human him, the more confident I became. But the truth was, I was probably just overly nosey and interested in anything to do with Edward, vampire or otherwise.

He became quiet as he appeared to sincerely think about my question for a moment.

"You don't remember?" I guessed.

"Trivial human details like that are harder to remember unless you work hard at remembering them, as you'll be able to do if you wish. But I do know one thing for sure…it wasn't some lame ass bird."

"Hey, Swan is a very respected name in my community."

"I just think its amusing that one of the most powerful humans left in the world has the name of a prissy goose."

"A swan is not a prissy goose, it's a noble bird that is fiercely protective of its family."

"Whatever."

We were both quiet again, just enjoying the moment, and then seemingly out of nowhere, he said - "Masen."

"What?"

"That was my last name, Masen. It just came to me."

"Edward Masen - I like that; it sounds very classic. I often wonder what it would have been like to live in your time."

"I'm glad you didn't."

"Why?"

"I was married…and pathetically honorable….You would have made me broken a sacred vow."

"You wouldn't have broken it for me," I said quietly.

"I would have done anything for you."

"Well, I wouldn't have let you."

He shrugged. "I could have just murdered her, and then we wouldn't have to break that vow. Till death do us part, and whatnot."

I rolled my eyed. "Now, that's just the vampire talking."

"Maybe…maybe not. I knew of a guy who killed his wife to be with his mistress. They lived a long happy life together and had three kids. Now, where would they have been if he let his first wife live?"

"Divorced."

"Oh…yeah, well I guess there's always that too."

"God, I bet she's rolling in her grave right now to hear you talk like that," I said with a giggle but felt guilty at the same time.

"First of all, she killed herself in some obscure place, there was no grave involved, and second, I hope she can hear me because then she'd know that I never loved her and she'd just be wasting her time if she was wandering around her afterlife waiting for me."

"You're heartless."

"Heartbeat-less," he corrected with his breathtaking crooked smile. "But I'm just not a very sympathetic or forgiving person, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," I giggled – and, oh how I loved that about him. Edward never apologized about his view on things, at least not when he was being honest. I wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest if I was actually the only person he had ever said he was sorry to, and I could definitely live with that long into my un-dead afterlife.


	24. Ready Enough

Chapter 24 – Ready Enough

"You know, you don't have to lay back here with me all night," I mumbled against Edward's chest. It was around midnight, and the motorhome was moving full speed ahead somewhere between Kansas and Montana as we continued diagonally north-west towards Alaska. We still needed to go up through the former Canada, but with being able to drive day and night, we were making excellent time.

"Well, if you don't want me here…"

"No, I didn't say that," I said quickly. "I just feel bad…You could be up front talking to Alice and Jasper, but instead you're stuck back here with me drooling on you in my sleep."

"Are you really drooling on me?" he asked, playfully disturbed. "Damn Bella, you have no idea how disgusting your spit is with that shit you eat."

I giggled. "You mean _food_?"

"Yes, that human food shit you eat is disgusting, especially when reduced to partially dissolved chunks between your teeth that get dislodged and spit into my mouth when you kiss me."

"Um…I do brush my teeth," I said defensively, trying to keep a straight face but failing miserably.

"It's not enough…We really need to find you a dentist for a deep cleaning."

"I don't think they exist anymore."

"Maybe I can search out a vampire that used to work on teeth."

"Do you know of one?" I asked.

"No, but if one exists, I'll find him."

"Or you can just wait until I get turned into a vampire and not have to worry about it," I told him.

"True," he said casually before rolling us over so he was back on top of me, and then planting his mouth to mine and immediately shoving his tongue in my mouth.

"Hey, I thought my mouth was disgusting?" I protested when he finally released me.

"Baby, there is _nothing_ disgusting about you. Now go back to sleep," he said before kissing my forehead and getting off the bed to go back up front with the others.

I smiled to myself, and then pulled the blanket back up and closed my eyes.

…

The next morning I woke up and was surprised to see Jacob and Leah missing. "Hey, did we lose a few wolves during the night?" I asked, slightly concerned.

"They're sleeping up top," Seth said.

"On the roof?" I asked surprised. "Like, outside?"

"Leah said our smell was giving her a migraine," Emmett explained with a chuckle.

"I see," I said while looking up, honestly wondering how the hell they were staying up there while it was moving.

The trip had been mostly uneventful, so after asking repeatedly for a turn to drive, finally Edward let me have a chance; of course, his idea of me driving was basically him driving with me on his lap, which I suppose was better than nothing.

"And what's this for?" I asked as I pushed the lever thing that had arrows on it.

"The blinker," Edward said. "It's to let other drivers know which way you're turning."

"And what's that for?"

"Windshield wipers."

"And that?"

"Hazard lights."

I scrunched my brows on that one. "What kind of hazard could this thing run into?"

"The motor breaking or a flat tire. It's basically to let other drivers know to be careful because you're having issues."

"Hey Edward, if you're from a time before motorhomes, how do you know how to drive them?" Seth asked from the front passenger seat.

"Anything is easy to learn when you're a vampire. I bet Emmett could even figure out how to drive this thing after a quick lesson."

"I could probably drive it now just from hearing you talk about it," Em butted in from the table seat behind us.

"So…when I'm a vampire you'll let me drive it by myself?" I asked excitedly.

"See, that's the thing, you're not from a time when people drove around, so you don't know the proper protocol for such things," Edward told me.

"But you just said…"

"Just because you could learn easily as a vampire, doesn't mean you should get to drive. Men always do the driving. You didn't see Alice driving this thing, did you?"

"No, but she drove the other car."

"That's because there were no men available," Jasper butted in from behind.

I looked back over my shoulder and saw Alice rolling her eyes at the sexist comments. "Don't worry about it_, I'll_ take you out driving, Bella," she assured me.

"When we get to Alaska?" I asked hopefully.

She shook her head. "No, humans are far too uncoordinated and fragile. I'll teach you after you're turned."

"But…this thing was built for humans."

"And that's why they're almost extinct," she replied. "They're too stupid to know better than to do something so stupid. I mean really, their minds and bodies weren't designed for that kind of speed."

"Whatever," I said with a sigh. "I suppose I can wait."

I looked back to the road in front of us, and suddenly our uneventful trip was about to become slightly eventful. There was something dark in the road ahead, but before I had a chance to ask what it was, Edward slammed on the breaks and held me around the waist so that my body wouldn't launch forward through the windshield.

Either the motorhome took far too long to stop or the figure in front of us moved closer, because in a blink of an eye, we were practically right on top of it. Except, the figure wasn't just a figure, it was a vampire…and it wasn't alone.

I heard two loud thuds and the roof caved slightly as Jacob and Leah, who had somehow managed to stay on the roof despite the sudden stop, immediately phased into wolves. I could hear them snarling at the strange vampires in front of us, but Edward didn't move, instead he watched them carefully.

"Do you know them?" Emmett asked as everyone came forward to see what the issue was.

"Nope," Edward said. "Just trying to listen to their minds. Jasper?"

"I don't know them either, but they're definitely stage threes."

"What does that mean?" Seth asked, echoing my own thought.

"It means it's been a long time since they've had any blood, and they're only a few months away from hibernation."

"Hibernation?" I asked confused as I watched the strange vampires look at us with blank empty stares and almost zombie like movements.

Jake and Leah continued to growl above us, but they stayed put, waiting for some kind of cue if they should attack or not.

And then we were all shocked as five more vampires staggered onto the scene. There was an old ghost town in the distance so I assumed they must have been living there and heard us coming.

"What do they want?" I asked Edward.

"They think we're with the blood bank. Their thoughts are hazy and almost unintelligible from their starvation, but I think they were told a shipment of blood was coming for them over a year ago."

"Why didn't it come?" I asked, actually feeling sorry for them.

"Why would the leaders waste good blood on _them?" _Edward asked mockingly. "They might have told them they were coming just to appease them, but I'm sure they never had any intention of actually doing it. Survival of the fittest, and all."

"Will they die?" I asked.

"Nope. But once in stage four, their bodies will shut down and they'll be locked in an extremely painful frozen existence until someone comes around to burn them, or they get a whiff of a human which will send them into a mindless frenzy until they consume the proper amount of blood to get them going again."

"So stage four is hibernation?" I asked, just trying to understand.

"Yep."

"Edward, I think we should take them out," Jasper suggested. "They're obviously suffering."

"Let them suffer. Why the hell do we care?" Edward said unfazed.

"Because we're not heartless," Alice said, agreeing with her mate.

"Speak for yourself," Edward told her.

"Edward's not heartless either," I told Alice. "Just heartbeat-less."

"Har, har," Alice said annoyed. "I think they should be put down as well. There will never be enough blood in the world for them to get better."

Edward huffed. "Fine, let's do it quick. Emmett, stay here with Bella. They'll stay pretty calm unless they smell her."

"What will happen if they do smell me?" I asked concerned.

"They'll get crazy with bloodlust and try to eat you," Edward explained. "So stay inside, and Emmett will protect you if someone gets in. Seth, why don't you stay inside as well."

"No, I want to go rip apart zombie-vamps," Seth protested.

"Stay here," Edward insisted.

Jasper went into a kitchen drawer and grabbed a lighter to slip into his pocket, and then the three of them opened the door and went outside. I watched out the window as Jacob and Leah jumped off the roof and waited behind Edward, Alice, and Jasper to follow their lead.

"We are from the bank. Come closer and you'll get the blood you need," I heard Jasper lying to them. The suffering vamps slowly gathered into a small messy crowd, and then the execution began. Jasper, Alice, and Edward worked together in beheading them, while the wolves just watched curiously from behind. It was odd that the vampires didn't even try to run when they saw the other's being killed; they were either too gone to understand, or even grateful for the end of their misery. It was actually really sad to see.

It was over quickly, and all the bodies were put into a pile which Jasper set ablaze. We didn't even wait around while they burned; everyone just got back into the motorhome and Edward began driving again, though it was obvious that the act weighed heavily on Jasper. Alice sat silently besides him and rubbed his arm comfortingly; Edward, on the other-hand, didn't seem like he cared whatsoever.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, just to be sure.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked perplexed.

"You just killed a bunch of your own species…it doesn't bother you?"

"Death is mercy, not a punishment," he replied. "So I consider it my good deed of the year."

I couldn't help but giggle a little because I knew he honestly believed his words. "Okay."

…

Surprisingly, only a few days later, we came across another starving group of vampires, except these ones weren't exactly the same.

"They're only stage twos," Jasper observed.

"I think we should take them out anyway," Edward said unexpectedly. "Seriously, it's only a matter of time before they get to stage three and beyond. The leaders don't give a shit about them, so let's just put them out of their misery."

"Feeling charitable now?" I teased him, though I did feel guilty about it because it was people's lives we were talking about.

But before they even finished discussing it, the difference between stage twos and stage threes became clear. The group of nine or so vampires suddenly attacked the motorhome, punching holes in the walls as they tried to break through. Jake and Leah had still been riding on top, so they jumped down and immediately went into defensive mode.

"Shit," Emmett said quietly as the vampires outside began ripping the walls to try to get in, and then everyone was in action. Jasper and Edward jetted out and went right for the most aggressive vampires, and everything quickly turned into utter chaos.

"Whoa!" Em shouted when a vampire reached through one of the holes and tried to get to me. Em instinctually grabbed the arm and was able to easily break it right off the guy's torso. "Cool."

"Oh my god, Emmett!" I shouted as I saw even more vampires running onto the scene. We were definitely outnumbered, and with the holes in the motorhome, they could all smell the human hiding inside. _Shit_.

"Don't worry Bella, I'm not going to let them get you," he said confidently. I didn't notice until that minute that little Seth had run out to join in the fight, and I couldn't help but worry about him. He had become like a little brother, or even almost like Edward's and my child in a way, and I was scared to death that he wasn't ready for such a fight. And because I was distracted while looking out for him, I didn't see a hostile vampire sneaking up under the window. He instantly ripped the entire thing off of the wall, and pulled me out of the hole it left.

I didn't have time to scream, but my eyes did meet Edward's, who had just tore the head off one vamp and was going for another when he saw me. But it was too late. I felt the vampire's teeth sink into my neck, and the break in my skin caught the attention of every other frenzied vampire in the area. They all charged me, which actually seemed to make killing some of them even easier for the wolves.

Edward flashed to my side, but even with how quickly he killed the guy biting me, I had already lost a lot of blood and felt myself losing strength. Edward picked me off the ground where I had fallen, and pressed his lips to the same spot the previous vamp had been drinking from, and worked on sucking out his venom. But I was so weak, and the last thing I saw before I blacked out, was Emmett ripping some vamp off of Seth, and then looking over at me worriedly.

I woke up some time later to the low rumbling of the motorhome's engine, so I looked around groggily and tried to remember what happened.

"Everything is okay," I heard Jacob's voice say. And that's when I noticed how warm I was. It was actually too warm, and it reminded me of the long scorching nights in the desert, and just like those nights, I desperately wanted Edward to cool me down.

"Why am I lying on you?" I asked Jacob disturbed. "Where's Edward?"

"I'm right here," Edward said from the bedroom doorway. "You lost a lot of blood and your temperature was down, so the wolves have been taking turns warming you up."

"Oh…Well, thanks," I said to Jake as I tried to scoot away from him.

"Careful, you've been out for a while," Jacob said as he helped me sit up.

"How long?" I asked curiously.

"Three days," Edward said, taking me aback.

"Wow." I looked down at my clothes and noticed that I was definitely not wearing what I was before. "Did you change me?"

"No, Alice did…and she helped you to the bathroom a few times as well."

"Oh…Thanks Alice," I said, knowing she could hear me even from the other side of the motorhome.

"Well, now that you're feeling better, I'm going to go back to riding on the roof with Leah," Jacob said, and then he quickly retreated out of the room.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked Edward when we were finally alone. "It got pretty dicey back there."

"You're the only one of us that was hurt…Well, unless you count the motorhome. It's tore up a bit out there, but nothing that's going to stop it."

I glanced out the window and noticed the snow. "Where are we?"

"Canada," he replied dryly while coming to sit on the bed next to me.

"So…not much longer, then?"

"About two more days."

I scrunched my brows at him. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head slightly. "I just hate this fucking world."

I sighed with a smile. "I know…it can be pretty fucked up….So…maybe we shouldn't wait for you to turn me," I said slowly, realizing just what a close call we had with those vamps. I still didn't believe a hundred percent, but I certainly didn't want something to happen that would end up killing me completely and not even giving me a chance at forever with him.

"You mean…you want to be turned _now_?" he asked surprised.

I raised my shoulders and then let them drop heavily. "Maybe waiting two years is just too risky with the world the way that it is."

"It's definitely risky," Edward agreed.

I nodded to myself, and then pulled my hair over my shoulder and tried to swallow my fear_. I will still be me, I will still be me_ - I had to keep telling myself that over and over, just so I wouldn't break down and start sobbing like a coward. I wasn't afraid to die, but I was certainly afraid of being replaced, and I accepted the fact that I would continue to fear it until the moment the change actually happened.

"Edward, I love you," I told him before grabbing ahold of him and kissing him intensely, trying to cement the feeling of his lips permanently into my mind so I could take the memory of it into vampirism. And then I pulled back and tilted my head, ready for him to deliver the ultimate changing bite.

Edward gently traced the freshest sealed wound on my throat with his fingertip, and just when I thought he was going to do it, he pulled back.

"Not today," he said unexpectedly.

"What? Why not?" I nearly shouted.

"You're not ready," he said evenly.

"When is anyone ready for something like_ this_?" I argued. "I'm ready enough, and I think it's for the best now."

"We're almost to Alaska. I need to speak to Carlisle, and when we're finished there I'll change you."

"What difference does it make?" I asked confused.

"It just does."

I didn't understand it, but whatever his reason for waiting was, sure seemed important to him so I decided to just go with it and hope I survived at least until then.

* * *

*****A/N: Spoiler Alert! We will be reaching Alaska next...Are you as excited as I am? Well, you should be ;)**


	25. Betrayal

Chapter 25 –Betrayal

A few days later we reached our destination, and I was grateful that the entire road trip didn't take a year like originally expected. We hit a couple bumps along the way, but as we pulled up to the largest residential house I had ever seen, strangely I felt safe and terrified at the same time.

It was a beautiful place covered in large glass windows which each looked to have amazing views of the picturesque scenery that surrounded the home. Alaska alone was the most gorgeous place I had ever seen, but that house almost completed it somehow. I once heard a saying that had something to do with icing on a cake, and because it originated long before my time, I never understood what it meant before, but looking at the sight in front of me it finally made sense - Alaska was the cake, and the amazing house was the icing.

But I was definitely nervous. Not only did the house contain unfamiliar vampires that I really hoped weren't hungry, but the fact that it was the home of Edward's creator made it extremely worrisome. What happened between them? What betrayal did Edward commit, and how would Carlisle react to seeing him again? I had so many questions, and even though I knew none would probably be answered due to their stupid _'need to know'_ rule, I couldn't help but hope that I'd at least get some clues.

Before Jasper even opened the door to let us all out, two vampires appeared on the house porch. I watched them through one of the holes in the side of the motorhome, and figured I'd hang back to let the reunions happen without my presences disrupting them.

Alice was the first outside, and she practically rammed right into the male vampire and screeched something about _daddy_. _Was that really Carlisle?_ The blonde male was beautiful like all the other vampires I had seen, but he looked much younger than I expected. The dark haired female by his side took a turn hugging Alice, while Jasper and Edward made a slower approach towards the scene…

"Well, you told me to bring him if he ever asked to come," Jasper said to the male vampire, which basically confirmed that he was in fact, Carlisle.

"Edward," Carlisle said fondly. "It's good to see you, son."

They stared at each other for a minute, and I was confused as to what was going on, but then Edward shook his head subtly and I understood. They were having a silent conversation, one only Edward could hear.

"Carlisle…I am…sorry for…" Edward said awkwardly. Apologizing was definitely not something Edward was used to, but I was extremely glad that he was trying.

"No need for regrets at this point. Let's just be happy to be reunited," Carlisle said to him warmly.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're home!" the dark haired female said affectionately to Edward before grabbing him into a hug.

"And I see you've brought guests," Carlisle added as he looked towards us. I heard Jacob and Leah jump off from the top of the motorhome, and Leah wolf huffed a call to Seth.

"You better go with them," I told him.

"Aw man, I wanna meet Edward's parents," Seth grumbled.

I laughed once. "Maybe later."

"Fine," he sulked. I watched as he exited the motorhome and shot the vampires on the porch a half wave thing, before phasing into a wolf and following Jake and Leah into the wilderness.

"I think we should go out now too," I told Emmett, who had moved to a protective position beside me.

"I don't like you around vampires I don't know," he said anxiously. He was obviously even more tense since one of the _level twos_ had gotten to me on his watch, but I really doubted Edward would be so casual if the vamps were any threat to me.

"It'll be fine," I tried assuring both of us.

"Stay close to me," he insisted, so I nodded and we walked out together with him in a defensive position in front of me.

"Carlisle, Esme, this is Emmett," Jasper introduced them. "He's the newborn I told you I was going to go train."

"A newborn? How exciting," the female said while looking at Em.

"And you brought him a snack?" Carlisle asked confused while looking at me.

"She's my sister!" Em growled.

"Oh," the female said surprised. Carlisle was also surprised, but he looked curious more than anything.

"Bella is Emmett's human sister…He's very protective of her," Jasper warned.

Carlisle's face immediately stretched into a wide grin. "And there's the proof of the human to vampire bond. Tell me, Emmett, if you don't mind, how long did it take for you to remember your sister and be able to control yourself around her. I have to say, as a newborn you are amazing to be able to restrain from killing a human."

Emmett looked at him confused. "Are you some kind of scientist or something?"

"I guess you can call me just overly fascinated. I have been studying the emotional ties between vampires and their human families for some time now, but with the ban on newborns I haven't met any vampires with living human relatives. I'd really like to ask you some questions when we have a free moment."

"Um…okay," Em said uneasily.

When Carlisle's eyes rested on me again, I noticed that they were an odd shade of orange, whereas the dark haired female's eyes were the red I had come to expect on vampires. "Don't worry, you are safe here with us," he assured me gently. "I'm Carlisle, and this is my mate Esme."

"We're so happy to have you here," Esme told us with a smile. When Em still didn't relax she took a step closer. "No harm will come to your sister here," she tried convincing him.

"Em…it's fine, I swear," Edward told him slowly, and because Edward was really the only vampire Em trusted me with besides himself, Em nodded and tried to calm down.

"Well, let's go inside to catch up, shall we?" Esme said excitedly.

Everyone started following Carlisle and Esme inside, but Edward hung back so he could walk in with me. "Where did the wolves go?" he asked.

"I'm sure they're out pissing on trees," Em replied casually. "You know, marking their territory and whatnot."

"You're probably right," Edward said. He put his hand on the small of my back to nudge me forward into the house, and Em decided to walk in behind us, just in case.

Inside was just as beautiful as the outside…and just as cold.

"Honey, go put the heater on for Bella," Esme told Carlisle, and then she turned to me. "Sorry about that, we never had a need to keep the place warm before."

"Oh…I'm fine," I lied. With all the holes in the motorhome, they had cranked up the heater to keep me from freezing to death on the last leg of our journey, so coming from that, the icy chill of the house was difficult to handle.

"She's not fine. Please turn it up as far as it will go," Edward insisted. Carlisle cocked his head to the side and looked at him strangely, but then nodded and went to turn up the heat.

"So…you have electricity here?" Emmett asked curiously as he looked around.

"We use gas and solar panels," Esme explained.

"Why? Vampires don't need the light or to be warm, so what's the point?" Em questioned.

"I'm sure they have their reasons," Edward answered for them. "Carlisle, I really need to speak to you alone."

"Yes, I have something I need to tell you as well."

"Great…Where should we go?"

"You've never been here before, why don't I give you a tour first?"

"I don't need a tour, I need to discuss what I came here to discuss," Edward said coldly.

Carlisle stared at him for a moment, and then nodded again. "Okay, we can go to my office."

But before they even had a chance to leave, another vampire came into the room.

"Did the new batch of blood come? It smells so fresh," the breathtaking blond female said as she breezed in. She paused and looked at all the vampires in the room, but strangely she didn't even give me a second glance like I was expecting. Instead her eyes lingered on Edward, and then she froze.

"What the fuck?" Edward said abruptly with a mix of shock and anger.

"Just give her a minute to explain," Carlisle said to him in a rush.

"Edward," the female said with a small hint of a smile. She looked mostly nervous, but there was something under that…Perhaps _affection?_

"What the hell are you doing here….What the hell are you doing alive at all?" Edward asked her angrily.

"I…I…I wasn't even sure if you'd remember me…I know it's hard after the transformation," she said quietly.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Alice asked confused. "But we didn't meet her until after you already left," she said to Edward.

"We knew each other as humans," the female said.

"As humans?" I asked quietly, though no one seemed to pay any attention.

"How did you know each other?" Em asked, strangely way more interested than I would have ever expected from him.

"Well Rosalie here, was my wife," Edward stated, completely shocking the hell out of everyone one else in the room except for Carlisle.

But I was sure no one was as shocked as me. "Wait, what?"

"And that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Carlisle said slowly, unsurprisingly ignoring my question.

"I can explain," Rosalie said.

"Yeah, okay, why don't you do that?" Edward asked irritated.

She took a deep unnecessary breath. "Do you remember how…hard things were those last few years? We couldn't have kids, so…I was depressed."

"I remember," Edward said unsympathetically. "Can you just get to the part where you're not dead?"

"Well you're not dead, either," she said defensively. When Edward's deathly glare got angrier, she must have decided to just get on with it. "I wasn't in a good frame of mind, so when you got sick…I couldn't handle it and decided to end my misery….I didn't want anyone to find my body, so I went to an obscure spot on the outskirts of the city, and slit my wrists. I didn't expect to ever wake up…but a vampire had been passing through the area and smelled my blood. He had just fed so he didn't kill me, but he later told me that he was lonely and found me attractive so he hoped I'd be his mate."

"So you have a mate?" Edward asked evenly.

"No…I mean, I love Garrett, but we were never right for each other. Besides, I was married… Carlisle believes that you take the most important attributes with you when you're turned…well, the biggest part of me was my depression…from not being able to have kids…_your_ kids. I never forgot you, and so I never really moved on."

Edward's irritation doubled. "Sorry, but I didn't even remember you until recently," he said harshly.

She smiled heavily. "That's ok. I understand."

"Whatever," Edward mumbled. "How the hell did you get _here?_" he asked, wanting to hear the entire story.

"It's been just Garrett and me since I was changed, but about eight years ago, we met Tanya and her sister Kate. Garrett and Kate immediately were taken with each other and became a couple, so we came up here with them and that's when I saw Carlisle. I remembered that he was your doctor after you got sick, and he remembered me as well, so he confessed that he changed you. He told me that you went your separate ways, but he was hopeful that you'd return one day, and I've been waiting here for you ever since."

I glanced at Edward's face and wondered how he was reacting to everything, but his face was void of emotion and it actually scared me a bit. He had said he didn't love her, but she was his wife, and she was there. Perhaps he would remember that he loved her after all, perhaps his primal mating instinct would kick in and he'd realize he still belonged with her. _It made my chest ache_. If he chose to be with her, what was I supposed to do? How could I just leave and forget how much I loved him? The answer was simple - I couldn't.

"Um…Bella, why don't I take you out for some fresh air," Emmett said suddenly. I looked around the room and was shocked to see all the vampires staring at me with a mix of confusion and concern; I realized then that they must have all heard my heart rate accelerate as I considered the possibility of Edward leaving me.

"Oh, heaven's no," Esme said quickly. "It's much too cold out. If she needs some space, why don't you take her upstairs?"

"That's a good idea, thank you," Em said, and without even really giving me a choice, he pulled me by my arm and practically dragged me up the stairs.

"I'm fine, Em," I tried assuring him as we went.

"No, you're not," he said when we reached the top of the stairs and hopefully safely out of the super hearing range of the vampires below us. "You're freaken out by your lover's wife…its understandable really. I just can't believe you're the_ other _woman; I thought dad and I taught you better than that," he teased me.

"Oh, shut up!"

Em chuckled. "I really don't think it's something you should worry about, Bella. He certainly didn't seem too happy about her being around, so I doubt he's even considering leaving you for her."

"Oh…I know," I lied.

"I have to admit though, that woman is fucking sexy as hell."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Of course you think she's attractive, you're a man."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, unsure if he should be offended or not.

"She's gorgeous, what man wouldn't find her attractive? And I'm…well, look at me?" I grumbled as I just happened to find my horrible reflection in a mirror hanging on the hallway wall. There was definitely no comparison, and Edward would be insane to actually pick me over his perfect wife.

"Oh Bella, knock that shit off. You're beautiful, and you're human. Anyone with vamp venom running through their veins could look good, I mean, they're all attractive. But it takes someone pretty special to look good as a human with the world the way that it is."

I laughed once. "Thanks Em…but you're my brother, so you have to say shit like that."

"No, I don't," he said seriously.

"Well, thank you…I just don't really believe it."

"You have trouble believing a lot of things that I know are facts," he said suggestively.

"True," I agreed.

"Whoa, what's that?" Em asked, suddenly averting his attention to the room at the end of the hall. The door was cracked open slightly, so he must have been able to see something that really sparked his interest.

"What?" I asked as I followed him towards the room.

"Holy shit," he said as he pushed open the door and walked inside.

"Emmett, I don't think we should…" I let my sentence trail off as I saw what he was seeing. Half of the room was full of odd looking metal gadgets of some sort, and the other side of the room almost looked like a chemistry lab with colorful liquids in beakers, and… "Is that blood?"

Emmett leaned in and smelled the red substance, and then shook his head. "I don't know."

"What do you mean, _you don't know_? You're a vampire, how could you not know if that's blood?" I asked incredulously.

"It's weird….It smells like blood a little…but it's different."

"It's a blood substitute," Edward said, suddenly appearing in the doorway. "Carlisle has been working to create a blood alternative so we wouldn't have to rely on the consumption of humans."

"Does it work?" Em asked curiously.

"I think he's getting closer. Of course, when I just told him that we've been surviving on animal blood, he called himself an idiot for not thinking about that himself."

"Is this shit why his eyes are that strange color?" Em asked.

"He tests out his inventions on himself, yes."

"So, Carlisle _is_ a scientist," Em concluded.

"Of sorts. When the Spanish Flu hit the country in nineteen eighteen, Carlisle and his friend Eleazar posed as doctors to search through the dying for anyone who could have a potential gift…That's how he found me. But I suppose that was also when his interest in this type of scientific experimentation began."

"Did you have a chance to talk to him yet?" I asked with forced casualness.

"No…not yet, I was too busy telling my undead wife that she's delusional for waiting all this time for me."

"I really hope you weren't as mean as I know you can be," I told him, feeling better and worse at the same time.

"I am not mean…just being honest."

"Brutally."

"Hey, if people can't handle the truth, then that's their own issue."

"Edward, the woman waited for you for a century, can't you at least be compassionate enough to understand her feelings."

He scrunched his face at me. "The words '_understanding'_ and '_feelings_' don't belong in the same sentence."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Hey, so what is all this stuff?" Emmett asked while pointing to all the metal scraps.

"Weapons."

"Really?" Em asked excitedly. "What kind…and why are they here?"

"Well, this one," Edward said as he picked up a metal cylinder shaped thing. "I believe, is a flame thrower. See these straps? They're so a human can wear this on it's back and protect himself against any vamp that comes close."

"Hold up, these are weapons to protect humans against vampires?" Em asked shocked, which was pretty much the same reaction I had.

"Carlisle always had a disturbing keenness for humans," Edward said plainly.

Em snorted. "You have no room to talk; I bet Carlisle's never fucked one before."

Edward shrugged carelessly.

"So…Is this why he's in hiding?" I asked slowly, trying to piece everything together.

Edward noticeably locked his jaw. "No, _I'm_ the reason he's in hiding….but I suppose it all started with this shit."

"What do you mean?" Emmett asked.

I was about to tell my brother that Edward wasn't really the most forthcoming individual so he should stop asking such questions, but then he surprised me and actually opened up.

"I was…_disturbed_ by Carlisle's growing fascination with the human race. We were the superior species, and yet, Carlisle started talking shit about vampires and saying we weren't natural. He had said he regretted turning any of us because he felt we were robbed out of the gift of humanity and the natural course our lives were supposed to take. We all would just laugh at him and dismiss it as Carlisle's mid-life crises, _so to speak_, but then he took it a step further and began making these weapons…among other things."

"The fake blood, you mean?" I tried to clarify.

"The fake blood never bothered me as much as the other compounds he made, some of which had the potential to threaten vampirism completely."

"What could do that?" Em asked confused.

"It doesn't matter what it was, because it didn't work…But I was pissed because he was doing all his experiments without the leader's knowledge, and at the time I was moronically loyal to them."

"Oh," Em said once he understood. "So you ratted him out?"

"I told Stefan and Vladimir that he was making concoctions that could hurt vampires, but I honestly just thought they'd go destroy all of his work and then leave him alone, I didn't know they'd want him to pay with his life."

"So you forced yourself into solitude because you felt guilty?" I assumed.

"Or maybe I went looking for a way to fix it with the leaders," he said unexpectedly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Edward locked his jaw again, and then looked around the room at anywhere other than me. "After the takeover...most of the humans were wiped out over a couple years' time, so ever since then the leaders have offered rewards for any knowledge of hidden human cities."

"What?" I asked angry and horrified, knowing exactly where he was going.

"I spent the last decade searching," he continued. "And then I just happened to have been hunting in the Washington forest…and caught your scent on a breeze."

"Oh my god."

"I went there and was shocked by how many humans were living there in secret. If anything could get Carlisle pardoned, it was telling them the location of your village."

I shook my head slowly. "So…all this time…you were planning to betray us too?"

"I was going to take you to the mating colony, and then leave you there and tell the leaders about it. Once we got to Phoenix, I saw in one of the guard's minds that Jasper was with Emmett and they went to Florida. I never gave a shit about Emmett, but I was hoping Jasper would help me get in with the leaders."

"Why didn't you just kill me then? I mean, you could have gone to Jasper without me?" I asked with tears streaming down my face.

"I thought having you with me would make it easier to get in to the colony. Plus, I had a looming fight to the death with Jacob, and even though I wasn't worried about it, I thought I might be able to use him at some point as well."

"So…" I wiped my face, refusing to let my emotions get the better of me. "When did your plans change? I mean, obviously they changed because why else would you be telling me all of this now."

He stared past me unseeingly, and then he sighed and looked me in the eyes again. "Of course they changed," he said so quietly that it wasn't anything more than a whisper. "I...I never expected..._you_. I didn't see any human as unique or significant, but I was fascinated by you from the beginning, even if I refused to admit it to myself."

"When did your plans change?" I asked again, because he didn't really answer my question.

"Texas," he admitted. "I figured that I could use the people of Austin to buy Carlisle's pardon, instead of your village. And of course, that was when I was forced to realize that I didn't want you dead."

"It's amazing what a little sex can do," I said scornfully.

"I'm sorry," he said, and then abruptly became cold again. "But now you know the truth."

"Why did you bring me all the way up here to tell me this? You could have told me in Florida, or even in Texas or Louisiana. What was the point?"

He ran his hands through his hair anxiously, and then walked in a circle before finally answering. "Look, I knew you'd be pissed at me…so I brought you here to protect you."

"To protect me?"

"Yeah, from lashing out and doing something stupid like running off on your own to get away from me. Plus…you'll be safe here while I'm away."

"And where are you going?" I asked furiously because I already knew what he was going to say.

"Back to Florida… to talk to Stefan and Vladimir."

"Wait, you're not going to tell them about _our_ village, right?" Emmett asked. I had actually forgotten he was even still there, but I was definitely glad he was on my side.

"I'm going to tell them about Texas. That is a huge mass of humans that the leaders would be thrilled to know about, and in turn they're going to let Carlisle go."

"They're going to kill all those people," I protested. "They may have a fucked up system going on there, but it's the only life they know. You can't tell anyone about it!"

"Jasper has to sneak blood here for them," Edward told me intensely. "If the leaders found out he was doing it, they'd kill him and hunt Carlisle down. If it was up to Stefan, everyone here would be just like those stage-threes we took out. Bella, this is my fault, and I'm going to fix it."

"There has to be another way then getting an entire city full of people killed," I tried reasoning with him.

"Vampires don't have money. They don't value anything besides blood, so the only way to undo the shit-storm I caused is by giving them real fresh human blood."

"But those people -"

"I don't give a shit about those fucking people!" he shouted at me. "I don't give a shit about your people either, and the only reason why I'm not going to sell them their location, is because of you."

"You mean, you're going to keep their location quiet unless you find yourself on the leader's bad side again, right?" I asked sourly.

"I never claimed to be a good person, Bella."

"But you're better than this…whether you want to admit it to yourself or not," I said before exiting the room, and heading down the stairs and straight out of the house. I had nowhere to go, but I really couldn't just stay there at that moment either. I needed a break from all things vampire, so I closed myself up in the holey motorhome, and just tried to make sense of all my thoughts.

It was bad enough finding out that Edward's wife was still alive and had waited for him all that time, but then to learn just how dark he actually was, just exhausted me. How could I look the other way while he basically sentenced an entire city to death?

Nothing could make me stop loving him, _that I was sure of_, but what if it just wasn't enough? Everything that made me who I was - my family, my home, my beliefs, my morals - it was all being ripped from me. Without those aspects that had always defined me, I was left dangling in space, clueless as to who I was anymore, and if I didn't know, how could Edward even claim to love me back? How could anyone love me when I was nothing more than an undefined entity with no sense of self? _I just felt so lost._

* * *

*****A/N: Bravo to those who already guessed that Edward's wife was still around, and a few even guessed it was Rose, so good job! **

**Spoiler Alert - So we've learned that Edward's human wife was Rose and is also a vampire. Edward betrayed Carlisle and was planning to betray Bella. Carlisle is a humanitarian of sorts and does experiments and builds weapons for human self-defense. But the biggest twist has yet to happen, and no one has guessed what it is thus far…Any ideas?**


	26. The End of Forever

Chapter 26 – The End of Forever

The wolves joined me in the motorhome for the night, which was nice because their combined body heat made it warm and toasty inside. Edward thankfully gave me some space and didn't come out, but I couldn't help but wonder what he was doing inside. Surely he wouldn't leave to Florida without saying goodbye, or at least I hoped he wouldn't, so I figured he was either talking to Rosalie, or discussing things with Carlisle. Either way, they were conversations he needed to be having, so I was grateful.

I was awoken the next morning to the sound of giggling right outside the motorhome, so I peeked through one of the wall holes and was surprised to see Rosalie. She was sitting on the porch swing flirtatiously twirling her golden locks in her fingers, and batting her eyes at whoever was sitting with her. My first stupid thought was that she was with Edward, since all I could see from the hole was the person's leg, but then I quickly dismissed it because Edward would never sit there and flirt with anyone; he just wasn't the flirting type. But I was curious, so I moved to a different hole hoping I could get a better view, and I was absolutely shocked to see it was Emmett.

"Weird," I said to myself quietly. It certainly didn't take her long to get over her hundred and fifty years of heartache.

I got changed and washed my face before heading outside, and unfortunately, there was no way to avoid the unexpected mating dance happening on the porch.

"Hey there, little sis, you remember Rose?" Emmett said like a moron.

"Yeah, I remember," I said slowly.

"I'm really happy to meet you, Bella," she said to me with annoying friendliness. I had no reason to dislike her, other than the fact that we semi-shared Edward, but I was having a really hard time being nice and I hated feeling like that. "It's been a long time since I've been able to talk to a human," she added.

"Oh…well, I'm still getting used to being around vampires," I told her, though I had no idea why. "Edward was actually the first one I saw, of course I didn't even know he was a vampire at first, but once I found out I was terrified….well, not terrified, but anxiously intrigued."

I really was an idiot.

"I'm going to go in and talk to Jasper for a minute," Emmett said before leaving me by myself with Rose. I was going to follow him in, but for whatever reason I knew Rose wanted to talk to me, so I found myself hanging back to see what she had to say.

"So…It must have been really hard for you to learn your brother was a vampire," Rose said sympathetically when we were alone.

God she was nice…and beautiful… and it was really pissing me off. "It's still hard to accept sometimes," I admitted back, sounding much friendlier than I intended.

"But Em told me you were thinking about becoming a vampire yourself?"

"Um…yeah," I said, nervous as to where the conversation was heading.

"Bella, I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, I know talking to your boyfriend's ex can be strange."

I looked at her shocked for a moment. "You know about that?"

She nodded. "Edward told me last night, and I was definitely…surprised, but…I am glad he has someone. He seems like a very angry and hostile type of vampire, but…when he was talking about you he was different…he reminded me more of the Edward I remember. He was almost gentle; I could see his affection for you in his eyes."

"Really?...And you're not... hurt or upset at all?"

"No…To be honest, it wasn't really Edward that I had held onto for so long…it was the_ idea_ of him - My perfect family that I was supposed to have. And after just talking to him for an hour last night, I realized that Edward the vampire is definitely not for me."

"So, you don't feel like you've…wasted a lot of time missing him…for nothing?" I asked carefully, hoping she wouldn't be offended, because that wasn't my intention.

She shook her head. "Like I said, it wasn't really about him. It was like…he was the symbol of my dream, because he was the only tangible piece. But I could have been married to anyone, even to some sick abusive bastard and I would have felt the same way….And that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about."

"I don't understand."

"I want to make perfectly clear that this has nothing to do with Edward, because I swear, I have no interest in him anymore…But I'm asking you to reconsider your decision to be turned."

"Why?" I asked perplexed.

"Because you're so young…you have no idea what you're going to want in the future. Now, I know the world isn't ideal for bringing up children, but you may want to be a mother someday anyway, and if you become a vampire, you'll lose that ability."

"I understand you wanted to have kids more than anything, but I'm not that type of person," I told her. "I just…With Edward and Emmett, I honestly feel becoming a vampire is the right path for me too."

She nodded. "Is Edward going to turn you while you're here?"

I shrugged. "I guess it's a good place for it."

"There is a lot of wilderness here to soothe those newborn tendencies. Emmett is going to take me out hunting for animals, and I'm actually excited about it. My hunting instinct has been dormant for a long time, so it'll be nice to get out and just…let the vampire out, you know?"

I raised my shoulders.

She laughed. "No, I guess you wouldn't really know, would you? But you will once you're changed. Honestly, it's a blessing and a curse."

"So…you have a thing for my brother?" I asked brazenly. It was my turn to be the protective one.

She smiled a smile that made her eyes sparkle like rubies. "I don't know what's going on, but…when he's around, it's almost like I feel…alive again."

I nodded while I tried to come up with a reason to disapprove or some kind of threat to make sure she didn't hurt him, but I was coming up empty. Emmett was perfectly capable of handling his own love life, and to be honest, I was grateful she wasn't still pining after Edward.

"So…you and Edward were married…and you never divorced, and you're not dead… does that mean you're still married?" I asked her.

"Oh…Um, I'm not sure…maybe we should ask Carlisle what he thinks."

"I suppose if anyone knows it would be him," I agreed.

Rose and I went inside to look for Carlisle, but we didn't have to look long because he was in the middle of what appeared to be a heated discussion with Edward.

"I really wish you'd reconsider," Carlisle said tensely.

"Look, the only reason why I told you is because I owed you a little honesty. But I'm doing it, and you're not going to talk me out of it," Edward replied firmly.

"But Edward, all of those people…"

"You're wasting your breath, Carlisle," Jasper cut in. "He's not going to change his mind, and I have to admit, I agree with him."

That was when I realized they were discussing how Edward was planning to inform the leaders about Austin. My stomach twisted.

"And you don't fear the backlash of the controlling coven?" Carlisle asked.

"How will they know it was me?" Edward replied unfazed.

"I'm sure your scent is still in the city, it probably wouldn't take long for them to find it and figure out it was you." Jasper told him.

"And then they'll come here looking for you," Alice said worriedly.

"No one knows where we are," Esme assured her.

"All anyone would need is a tracker," Jasper said plainly.

"Why are you guys so concerned about this Texas coven, anyway?" Emmett asked, which was actually a really good question.

"They have gifts," Carlisle explained.

"So they're Cullens?" I asked confused.

Carlisle shook his head. "No. They've been around much longer than the Cullen division, and they don't respond to authority. When the Romanians led the vampire takeover, this particular coven wasn't happy about it, so I'm actually not surprised that they've gone about keeping an entire human city to themselves."

"Look, they're not going to be able to retaliate against me for telling the leaders about their city…because they'll be dead," Edward said evenly. "Do you honestly think Vlad and Stefan will let them live after learning of their crime?"

"Well, we should get going back to Florida right away. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back," Jasper told Edward.

Edward nodded absently, and then without warning, he flashed by my side and pulled me into him in an intense rush of a kiss that took my breath away.

"I know that you're pissed at me right now," he said while pulling back but keeping his arms locked around me. "But…everything is going to be fine. Those people will just be put into a mating colony…hell, they'll have to open another one just to accommodate all of them, and considering how much they improved from the first to the second, this third one will be like a spa day for those people."

"That's not the point, Edward," I told him. "At least half of them will be killed right away because of their age or health. Families will be broken up. Imagine how terrified the children will be, especially when they're ripped away from their parents."

"It's bound to happen sooner or later. It's only a matter of time until someone else stumbles across that city and informs the leaders, and it might as well be me so we can gain something from it," he told me resolved.

"Edward, Bella is right, it's not worth it to me," Carlisle tried reasoning. "What is there to go back to anyway. This is our home now, and we're going to stay so there's no point to this."

"The point is that Jasper won't have to sneak you blood anymore, and the leaders will never get the inkling to kill you for no reason," Edward said to him through gritted teeth, but he never took his eyes off me.

"Edward, please don't do this," I asked desperately. Even though I didn't really know the people there, it was a matter of life and death, and I felt sick for even having to ask.

He huffed. "I have to do this," he told me in an almost apologetic tone. "But I'll be back soon; we'll run the entire way so it won't take nearly as long as it did coming here." I shook my head at him as angry tears streamed down my face, and he responded by leaning in and kissing my forehead. "I love you," he said softly.

But I was just too upset, and heard myself say – "Prove it."

He let me go and then took a step back away from me. His expression was a mix of shock from my words, and almost pensiveness - as if he was actually trying to come up with some grand gesture to prove his love for me. I felt bad about it, that was definitely not the response anyone should get after telling their partner that they love them, but I couldn't take it back, not when there was even the smallest chance it could save those people.

And of course, explosions always seemed to happen at the worst times, and that was exactly what immediately followed that moment.

"Well, well well, what do we have here?" a female vampire said as she walked into the house. She had four large male vampires with her, and three more waiting outside in what appeared to be a tense stand-off with the wolves. She definitely wasn't a friendly guest, and I blamed myself for her catching us off guard. Edward probably could have heard their minds coming if we weren't having our issue, but I didn't regret asking him to spare the people, so I guess it was a moot point.

"Maria," Carlisle greeted her tensely. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Yes, it is a surprise that we've surprised you. With the precog there, I was sure you'd already be gone by the time we got here."

"My visions are…sidetracked at the moment," Alice said bitterly. "But I am watching the leaders and they didn't decide to send you after us."

"You didn't even tell them that we left yet," Edward said to Maria amused. "No one knows you're here at all. Are you really that scared of your own failure that you're going behind Stefan and Vladimir's backs?"

"Vlad and Stefan would be pissed that.."

"That _you_ lost their newborn, yes I know," Edward said mockingly.

Maria sneered at Edward. "Well, at least I'm fixing my mistakes," she said suggestively, though I didn't understand what exactly she meant by that. Did she know about Edward's betrayal? Did everyone know?

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere with you," Emmett told them sternly.

"You don't have a choice," Maria told him. "I made you…You belong to me."

"I don't belong to anyone," Emmett growled.

Rose surprised me by stepping in front of Emmett and hissing at Maria, which Maria responded with a dark laugh. "I'm scared, hon."

"He obviously doesn't wish to go with you, so you're not going to take him," Carlisle told Maria. With Carlisle's stance clear, the rest of the Cullens immediately took defensive positions, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

She laughed again. "You know Carlisle, I've heard you were somewhat of a scientist."

"_Scientist_ is a loose term," Carlisle replied.

"Lance," she said with an evil grin. Without another word, one of the vampires with her disappeared, but it didn't take long to figure out where he went.

"No, stop!" Carlisle said worriedly as we all heard glass breaking upstairs. I couldn't see Edward's face because he was in front of me, but I knew he was fuming.

"Even if you destroy everything in my lab, we will still not move aside and let you take Emmett," Carlisle said with conviction.

Suddenly the breaking stopped above us, and the Lance vamp reappeared, except he was holding something.

"Found this, boss," he said to Maria.

She took it from him and cocked her head to the side as she looked at it. "The end of forever," she read the label of the vial.

Carlisle's eyes grew into a panic. "No…don't…I've spent over a century working on that, and it'll take that long to make it again!"

"Wow Carlisle, there were rumors that you developed vampire poison, but I thought they were just made up lies. What the hell kind of vampire would invent such a thing?"

"Destroy everything else, but please, give that back to me," Carlisle pleaded.

"I think I would be doing my species a disservice by letting this thing exist, but…I'll give it back to you if you move aside and let us take Emmett."

_My heart jumped._

Carlisle looked to be considering it for a moment, but then he shook his head. "Fine…destroy it. I have forever to make a new one."

"I will destroy it, but I'm also taking Emmett." Maria went to throw the thing down, but then Edward did the last thing I ever expected, he flashed to her and somehow caught the vial before it could shatter on the ground. He got back up and looked like he was going to hand it to Carlisle, but then Maria got pissed. "I will not leave here without Emmett, and I will not leave without that thing destroyed! Lance, Paul, make sure it's smashed."

"Bella, back up!" Edward warned me, just as a fight broke out. The three vampires outside ran in to help their side, and the entire house began to shake as the brawl erupted. There was too much happening that it was hard to focus on anything, but it was absolutely terrifying. It was just too much for the living room to hold, and a giant hole was quickly broken in the side of the house, which actually turned out to be a good thing because it allowed the wolves to join in.

I moved to the stairs to try to get out of the way, and from there I was able to see Rose and Emmett fighting together, but I couldn't find Edward right away. And then I saw him. He had two vampires on him, one trying to rip off his head, and the other trying to tear off his arm that was still holding the vial. _My heart leapt into my throat._

Somehow he managed to push both of them off of him, and then… "You want it gone!" Edward shouted, causing a pause in all the fights around us as everyone looked at him. His eyes searched out mine, and when he found me, he stared at me intensely. "You wanted proof, well here it is," he told me before opening the vial…and drinking it.

"No!" Carlisle and I shouted at the same time.

I didn't care that the room was full of hostile vampires, I fought my way through and right to Edward. "What did you do?" I cried as I reached him.

"Proving to you that I love you," he said quietly.

The entire room became silent as everyone watched Edward to see what would happen, but then Esme started freaking out. "What's going to happen to him?" she asked Carlisle.

"It hasn't been properly tested, I…I…I don't know," Carlisle told her anxiously.

"Well, he looks fine," Maria said coldly. "I guess your little vampire poison didn't work. Come on Emmett, your friends don't need to be hurt for you, let's go."

But all of the Cullens had faith in Carlisle's scientific ability, so they all continued to watch Edward carefully, and then it happened. His eyes went blank, and he gasped as if he was suddenly hit with a ton of pain.

"Edward!" I cried as his knees buckled and he fell to the ground.

"Oh, he's faking it," I vaguely heard Maria say.

"Help him!" Esme begged Carlisle.

"There's nothing I can do," Carlisle replied sorrowfully.

But I wasn't paying attention to them, I wasn't paying attention to anyone other than Edward. I curled myself around him as he began shaking violently, just trying to hold him together and praying to all things holy to fix him. I didn't understand it. I couldn't fathom why Edward would poison himself. _How the hell was that proving his love for me?_ I felt like my insides were being shredded as Edward trembled in pain, but it was nothing compared to the sheer terror I felt as his stone hard skin began to crack.

"Oh my god, Edward!" I screamed. "Please, god!"

Edward somehow managed to move his broken body so that he was looking at me again, and then he whispered roughly "I love you."

I hugged his head and rested my forehead against his. "I love you so much," I cried. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know how to help him; I just felt so lost and helpless, and I had never been more scared in all my life. "How do I fix this?" I asked desperately.

The cracks in his skin only deepened, but he kept his eyes locked to mine and strangely, he didn't look afraid. It was obvious he was in excruciating pain, but his lack of fear both terrified me and oddly made me feel a miniscule amount of relief.

But when the cracks in his skin began to crumble, my own fear grew tenfold. His eyes finally broke away from mine…and then they closed and his entire body stilled. "What's happening to him?"

"He's dead," Maria said with a laugh. "I guess your little poison worked after all," she told Carlisle. "Come on, boys, let's get the newborn and go."

Emmett walked over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Bella…I'm so sorry," he said sympathetically. "Now, I'm going to go with them, because I don't want anyone else hurt…but I'll find a way back, ok." He turned to someone, and asked them to watch out for me, but I hardly heard him. I hardly heard anything because I was abruptly consumed by the most intense pain I ever felt in my entire life.

My chest began heaving violently as the pain became unbearable, and when I felt a pair of cold hands attempt to pull me back, I screamed at whoever it was to let me go.

"Bella, I need you to move back," Carlisle tried reasoning with me.

"No!" I wailed, and reached for Edward's lifeless face, but then screamed out in horror when my light touch caused his skin to disintegrate, exposing what almost looked like a leathery material underneath.

"Esme, move her!" Carlisle shouted, so the cold hands were back on my arms, and this time they refused to let me escape. "Jasper I need four IV drips set up. Two with saline solution, and two with the O negative I have in my office. And bring me a breathing bag and mask. GET IT NOW!"

"Okay," Jasper said and flashed away.

"Alice, go help him; Rose, go get Kate!" Carlisle insisted.

"What's going on?" I asked in a panic as I watched Carlisle leaning over Edward, and beginning to break off what was left of his stone skin.

"It all needs to come off," Carlisle explained in a rush as he continued. "You may not want to watch this, Bella," he warned me, but there was no way I was going to turn away at that point.

I gasped as he gruesomely broke off Edward's scalp, and then the skin down his neck. And the more he worked, the more of that leathery material underneath was uncovered. He ripped off his clothes, and broke the skin off his shoulders and chest, and continued down his legs all the way to his feet. Once he got Edward's hard skin completely removed, what was left could only be described as a mummy-like figure, frozen and completely petrified like something from a horror novel.

"Please, just tell me what's happening?" I begged.

Jasper returned with some sort of metal pole and what looked like a needle kit, and Alice came with the bags of fluids and blood and a few other things I didn't recognize. Carlisle grabbed the needles and began shoving them right into Edward's lifeless arms, but thankfully he showed me some mercy and explained as he worked…

"What Edward drank was not poison," Carlisle said absently. "It was my life's work. It took a century to complete."

"What was it?"

"A cure," he stated, completely flabbergasting me.

"A cure?"

"For vampirism. I worked on most of it without anyone knowing, but about twelve years ago Edward found out…He found it in my lab and I let it slip in my mind what it was. He was extremely upset and thought I was trying to destroy the entire vampire race. He wouldn't listen to my reasoning and that was the last time I saw him. Alice told me that he went to the leaders, so I ran away here. It wasn't finished yet, and I couldn't leave it unfinished. But it's never been tested, and I have no idea if it'll even work."

"But it is working," Esme said supportively. "Look at him."

Carlisle completed the IVs, hooking them up to Edward's legs and arms, and then shoved a tube down his throat and attached it to a bag looking thing, and began squeezing it. "Jasper, chest compressions," he instructed. "We need to get his heart working again. Alice, go see what's taking Kate so long…"

I felt like I had stopped breathing as the weight of the situation hit me full force. This was Edward's proof…He took the leap of faith that I was too much of a coward to take myself, and he did it for me. I never felt worse about anything than I did in that moment. If he didn't survive it would be my fault, and I would have to spend the rest of my life wandering around alone, aching for him and suffering through a living hell without him. _I deserved far worse_…

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*****A/N: What do you think? Disappointed, excited? Let me know.**


	27. The Loony Bin

***A/N: Wow, I've never had such vastly opposite reactions from one chapter before. But to those who hate it and/or worried, I only ask that you keep an open mind. This story is called _Revolution_ for a reason, and we definitely haven't seen the last of Badass-ward. The clues are all there, all you have to do is put the pieces together or just wait and see how it unfolds. But I will promise you that it's going to be entertaining and a wild ride all the way through :)

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Chapter 27 – The Loony Bin

"I'm here, what's going on?" a female vampire said as she ran into the house with Rose.

"I need you to shock his heart," Carlisle told her. "Jasper hold off on the chest compressions for a minute; give Kate access."

"What? I don't understand…what is that?" Kate asked confused.

"It's Edward," Rose said quietly.

"Oh god, did he drink one of your fake blood concoctions?" Kate asked disturbed.

"Can you just shock his heart, please? I will explain later!" Carlisle said sternly.

"Where? He's like one big strip of jerky."

"In the chest, Kate!" Rose yelled at her.

"Okay," she said slowly before bending down on her knees, and placing her hands on Edward's chest. His body jerked…and then she pressed down with her fingers, and he jerked again.

"What is she doing?" I asked, not expecting an answer.

"She's shocking him, hopefully it will restart his heart," Carlisle told me.

"Hopefully?"

"It's all just a theory at this point."

Every vampire in the room suddenly froze.

"And that is the sound of his heartbeat," Carlisle said astonished. "But it's weak and he still needs help. Jasper, chest compressions again. We need to help him to keep it going."

Jasper began pushing on Edward's chest, while Carlisle took a little tube and shoved it down Edward's throat, and then attached it to a cylinder thing and began squeezing it slowly.

"If we can maintain his heartbeat, and keep oxygen in his lungs, he may have a chance," Carlisle told me as he kept squeezing the bag thing he had.

Jasper and Carlisle continued pushing and pumping for what felt like hours; they didn't stop and they didn't tire. When the IV bags were empty, Alice flashed upstairs and got new ones. Every once in a while Kate would need to shock his chest again, but when the room began to go dark from the lowering sun, Carlisle told Jasper he could stop.

"His heart is beating on its own," he told him. "And it's sounding better and better. I think this is going to work."

"He's even looking better," Esme said excitedly.

And he did look better. He still looked horrible, but the fluids being introduced into his system were making a world's difference. He was fuller, and his skin was less leathery.

"So…he's going to be okay?" I asked, still too afraid to actually believe it.

"There are no guarantees," Carlisle told me. "But he's definitely a fighter. He has the will to live, and that's the most important thing."

"The will to live…as a _human_?" I asked, still in shock.

Carlisle smiled heavily. "As a human."

"Edward's not a fan of humans…he thinks they're weak," I said absently.

"He may think that…but he loves you, and it appears that he'd do anything for you," Carlisle replied. "This could take a few days, why don't you try to get some rest."

I looked around the room and noticed for the first time that an important person was missing. "Emmett's gone."

"He went with Maria…But I'm sure you'll see him again."

"We'll get him back," Rose said confidently.

I nodded, but not even having my brother taken away again could really pull my attention from Edward. I moved back to him, and then grabbed his hand in mine. "He's too cold," I told them. "Humans need to be warmer."

"Can I help?" Seth asked, suddenly appearing in the giant hole in the side of the house.

I nodded. "Sit on the other side of him."

"Here are some blankets," Esme said. "But we should move him…This is too exposed to the elements."

"Let's take him upstairs," Carlisle suggested.

So Seth, Jasper, and Carlisle carefully carried him and his IVs upstairs, and set him up in one of the rooms. I immediately laid next to him on the bed, and Esme covered both of us with the blankets, while Seth sat on the other side of him.

"We'll work on covering the hole, but the heater is still up as high as it will go," Jasper informed me.

"Thank you," I said vacantly. I was in such a shock by the entire thing, that I wondered if the feeling would ever go away. I couldn't imagine Edward as a human, and I was scared to death about how he would react after he had the time to really think about what he did. The only solace I could think of was the fact that Edward could always be re-bitten and turned back if he so chose, and I would follow, I owed him at least that. We just needed him to survive long enough to make that choice.

I rarely left his side, but after being awake for almost three days straight, I ended up falling asleep next to him against my will, and when I woke up again the change in him was drastic. He was no longer the leathery mummy like thing that he was before, he was a person; a thin, frail, sickly, bald person, but a person none the less.

And then he started moving….

"Edward?" I asked hopefully. Everyone had been coming in and out throughout the three days, but at that moment we just happened to be alone. Of course, their vampire super hearing allowed them to hear me all the way down stairs, so Carlisle quickly flashed into the room and began checking his vitals.

"His heart rate is strong, breathing is good. Edward, can you hear me?" he asked him.

Edward moaned, and considering how horrifying he had been, that little noise was music to my ears.

"Can you open your eyes for me?" Carlisle asked him.

I watched intently as Edward's eyelids fluttered, and then finally opened to reveal a pair of bright green irises. I gasped from the sight. I had never seen that exact shade of green on anyone before, but they were beautiful and absolutely fitting.

"Edward…can you hear me?" Carlisle asked him.

I got off the bed to give him a little space, but stayed right by his side and refused to take my eyes off of him as Carlisle finished his exam.

Edward nodded, and that tiny move alone made my heart skip as relief flooded every inch of my body.

"Do you know where you are?" Carlisle asked him, and again Edward nodded. "Can you speak?"

"Mm…my throat...hur-hurts," he struggled. I rushed to get him a drink of water, and couldn't help but wonder what he thought about it. It was his first drink in a century and a half, and I could only imagine how odd that would be for him.

"Here," I said softly, and brought the cup up to his lips to pour a little slowly into his mouth.

"Thanks," he whispered groggily.

"So, how are you feeling; are you in any pain?" Carlisle asked him, still in scientist mode.

Edward nodded. "My head hurts…and everything feels…heavy," he said while trying to move his limbs.

"That's understandable," Carlisle assured him. "You've been through quite an ordeal, but I believe after some recovery time you'll be a healthy twenty one year old again."

"So…the fever…it's gone?" he asked strangely.

"Fever?" Carlisle asked confused.

"From the flu…My mother was starting to get sick too, how is she doing?"

And just like that, I felt all the blood drain from my face.

"Edward, what is the last thing you remember?" Carlisle asked him.

"Um…My family brought me in here, and you told me you would do whatever you could to make me better," he said while looking around confused. "But…I think we were in a different room."

"And…what year is it?"

"Nineteen eighteen….Dr. Cullen, is something wrong?" Edward asked, suddenly becoming concerned.

Carlisle glanced at me. "Everything is fine," he told him. "Bella, why don't we speak outside for a moment?"

I looked at Edward again, and then nodded to Carlisle and started following him out.

"Dr. Cullen, is my wife here?" Edward asked unexpectedly.

Carlisle and I exchanged a glance; his was almost sympathetic, whereas mine was sheer panic. Edward didn't remember me, and I wondered what that meant. What if I was right all along, what if the human and the vampire were two entirely different entities, and the vampire version of Edward that I loved was gone and replaced by Rose's Edward; though, I suppose if that was true it would have been a different Rose as well. God, I was so confused, but I could only imagine how lost Edward must have been feeling, and I wished more than anything that I could help him.

"Rosalie is here, yes," Carlisle told him reluctantly. "She's right outside; I'll ask her to come in." Carlisle walked to the door and stuck his head out, and said "Rose, can you come in here, please," before shutting it again and waiting. Rose was downstairs, but she must have heard him because a few seconds later she walked into the room.

"Oh, you're awake," she said surprised. "You look horrible."

Edward narrowed his eyes at her. "What's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

"Edward's fever has broken," Carlisle cut in. "I think he was lucky, the Spanish Flu has passed," he told her suggestively.

"Huh?...Oh," she said as she finally understood. "Wow…um, okay…Honey, how are you feeling?" she asked Edward awkwardly.

"What's going on?" Edward asked her suspiciously. His voice was still raspy like it hurt to speak, but he definitely caught on to the fact that something was off, and he was looking for an explanation.

"What do you mean? Nothing is going on," Rose said quickly. "We're just…here…in Chicago…in nineteen eighteen…in the hospital. I was just about to go help…momma….bake a pie and make ice tea," she lied horribly.

"Have you been in the mental hospital again?" Edward asked her carefully.

"No…I'm fine," Rose said, beginning to get irritated.

"You look…weird. Your face is different…and what the heck are you wearing?"

Rose huffed. "Momma got me some new clothes and makeup. Don't you like it?"

"Uh…yeah, you look…nice. Hey-uh, listen, if Dr. Cullen won't let me go home today, I think you should go anyway…tell my mom to leave too, I know she's not feeling well."

"Uh…sure. What do you think, Dr. Cullen, can he go home today?" Rose asked Carlisle evenly.

"I think we better keep him for another day…just to be sure," Carlisle told them. "Well, I have a few rounds to make. Mrs. Masen, why don't you head home, I will inform you if there's any change."

"Thanks," she said before quickly exiting the room without even saying goodbye to Edward whatsoever. It was strange, but I knew it must have been even stranger for both of them.

"I will be back to check on you soon," Carlisle told Edward before gesturing for me to follow him out of the room. I nodded, and then gave Edward a reassuring smile before leaving, but I couldn't really look at him; I'd never be able to hold it together if we were to make eye contact and I didn't see the man I loved looking back at me.

"So…please tell me you know what's wrong with him?" I asked desperately as we walked down the stairs.

"I have a few theories."

We went into the living room where I mentally noted that the giant hole in the wall had been closed off by wooden boards, but it was still fairly cold, though I wasn't about to complain at that moment. It seemed everyone was gathered around the room in various discussions of their own - some seemingly about Edward, but most were in planning mode on how to save Emmett – but when Carlisle and I sat on the couch to talk, everyone quieted to listen. "So, your theories?" I asked him impatiently.

"Well his mind has reverted back to his last few memories of his human life, which would make sense due to the fact that vampires use much more of the brain then humans do. After six or seven decades, humans begin to lose memories, so Edward's hundred and fifty years of vampire memories seem to have been lost in the transition…now, that's not to say they can't be recovered, but it may take time."

"But how can they be recovered if the human mind isn't capable of storing that many memories?" I asked, feeling confused and desperate.

"I never said it wasn't capable of it, only that they lose them…meaning they can't find or access them. But unless there is significant brain damage, the memories are always there…they're just hidden. The brain, both human and vampire, is an incredible organ; there's no telling what it's actually capable of. Edward may never remember anything..."

"Or perhaps he doesn't _want_ to remember," Jasper said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"Back in the civil war, I knew of some men who blocked out certain memories because they were too painful…it was a way to preserve sanity. As a vampire Edward had done some things that a human would have a hard time living with. The blood, murder, beheadings, fire…Things that would drive any human insane from even just seeing, let alone being responsible for."

"So…you think his guilt has caused this?" I asked slowly.

"That is an interesting theory," Carlisle agreed.

"But, I do think that if he's just blocked it all out, then it can be easily recovered," Jasper added.

"How?" I asked hopefully.

"Same way he forced Emmett to remember you," he told me.

"Wait, you want to hurt him?" I asked concerned.

"I think it's worth a try."

I shook my head. "Even if I was okay with you torturing him, obviously there is a reason he's blocked it out, so if your theory is right, then bringing up those memories could do some significant damage to his psyche."

"Maybe it's worth the risk…I mean, we can't hide the truth from him forever. The world isn't like it used to be; without telling him he was a vampire for a century and a half, how are we supposed to explain it all?"

"Bella, I care about Edward, I do, but I don't want to be his wife anymore," Rose said gently. "To be honest, it's hard for me to think of anything right now…besides getting Emmett back."

"Well, maybe we can think of something else to tell him…at least until he's healed enough to possibly handle it better," I suggested.

"Let's give him until tomorrow, and then we tell him," Carlisle decided. "Even if he doesn't regain those memories, Rose is right, she shouldn't have to play along with the charade, and Edward wouldn't want her to either."

I bit my bottom lip. "I'm just scared. What if he remembers all of the things he's done…and it destroys him."

"He's strong…But we won't know what he can handle until we try," Carlisle said soothingly.

I nodded, and then decided to go back upstairs to check on him.

Just from the short amount of time I had been away, he was already looking even better. But he was sleeping…and the sight of him sleeping was incredible. Even with his bald head, and his cheeks sunken in, and his collar bones sticking out, he was absolutely beautiful.

I didn't even feel myself reach for him until my hand was lightly caressing his face, and the warm delicateness of his skin was a feeling I'd never forget.

But then his eyes popped open and he looked right at me, locking me in that striking emerald stare that I had feared before. An endless moment passed between us, and even though he didn't know me, I didn't have a doubt left in my mind…there weren't two versions of Edward. My beliefs were wrong, because the only person Edward could ever be, was _my_ Edward. He was in there, and if I didn't know any better, I could have sworn I saw it there in his eyes - his desire to remember. Edward wouldn't have wanted to forget everything, so I needed to trust in him, and in Jasper, and allow what needed to be done to bring him back.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked him softly.

He looked at me confused. "Are you a nurse?"

"I'm…a friend," I told him with a reassuring smile.

"I'm sorry, I don't…"

"Carlisle said you had some memory loss from the trauma you suffered. He's not sure if it's permanent or not, but he's hopeful you'll make a full recovery," I said as honestly as possible.

"Wait…I have memory loss?" he asked confused. "But I remember everything…or at least I thought I did."

I shook my head slowly. "You can't remember a lot of things actually."

He scrunched up his features. "What's missing? I remember getting sick, and Dr. Cullen, and my family…I don't understand why you think I've forgotten anything."

"The Spanish Flu was actually a long time ago," I said hesitantly. I wasn't planning on telling him that just yet, _I wasn't planning on telling him anything_, but I didn't want to lie to him either, so if he was going to ask, I was going to tell him.

"Really? So…I'm not here because of the fever…What am I doing here then, and how long ago was the flu?"

_Shit._ I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I certainly didn't think he was going to be so specific with his questions.

"The flu was…several years ago actually, and you're here because…well, you took some sort of experimental medication that made you sick."

"Several years ago? Is that why Rosalie looked so weird?"

I nodded. "She's changed a bit."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Who are you?"

"I told you, a friend. My name is Bella."

"Well, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but why are you here? This doesn't seem like a casual social visit. You've actually been here longer than my wife…it's a little strange."

I bit my lower lip as I thought about what I was going to tell him. "Well…You and Rose have sort of…grown apart."

"Grown apart…Wait, you mean…we're divorced?"

I raised my shoulders, and then let them drop heavily. "I suppose."

He shook his head in denial. "Divorce isn't something that's done. Did she leave yet? I want to speak to her."

"She's gone home for the day," I said, honestly. She had gone back to her home with Garrett and the other coven nearby.

"I don't understand…I know we were both unhappy, but…Wait, is she remarried now? Has she found someone else?"

It was strange, but I could have sworn his tone was almost hopeful.

"She's not remarried…but I think she does have someone."

He nodded and a look of relief crossed his face, but then he looked confused again. "Just how long exactly has it been?"

"Since when?" I played dumb.

"The last thing I remember is the flu…how long has it been since then? What year is it?"

_Shit. Shit. Shit._ "Uh…well, it's kind of hard to keep track of the years, but if I had to guess…I'd say it was around 2068."

He stared at me as if he was waiting for the punch-line of some joke. "Okay, so what year is it really?" he asked when I didn't say anything else.

"It's 2068," I said again seriously.

He nodded. "So, you expect me to believe that I'm one hundred and seventy one years old?" he asked mockingly. "Wow, I must be doing quite well for my age. It's a no wonder I can't remember certain things."

"Look, I know it sounds impossible, but I'm telling you the truth. Something happened to you that…"

"Bella," he interrupted me. "That's what you said your name was, right? Look, I was born in 1897. The last thing I remember, it was 1918 and I was twenty one years old…So do me a favor and stop pretending like I'm an idiot. Unless wait…is this a loony bin…are you crazy? Oh, this makes sense…Rose is crazy, she's here…you're crazy…so, somehow I must have become crazy too. I wonder what happened," he said pensively.

"You're not crazy, and neither am I. It's around 2068, and the reason you've been alive for so long is because you were a vampire," I blurted out, but regretted it almost immediately.

He looked at me surprised, and a little compassionately. "Okay," he said gently. "Uh, we're just going to get Dr. Cullen back in here, and he can try to figure out a better level of medication for you."

Carlisle must have heard him, because he quickly flashed in and was by Edward's side in a blink of an eye, which actually startled Edward. "Whoa, how'd you get here so fast?"

"What Bella has told you is correct. You were a vampire for the past hundred and fifty years…as has Rose, as am I. I actually created you, but I also created a cure which you recently tested out for me. It was successful, you are human again, but unfortunately you lost all of your vampire memories."

Edward nodded. "Um okay…Dr. Cullen, I think _my_ medication level is wrong as well, I'm starting to hallucinate and…" he let his sentence trail off as he looked out the window and noticed something that shocked him. I looked over him to see what he was seeing, and my worry for his mental state only intensified. Coming down the mountain were three giant wolves.

"What the hell are those?" Edward asked vacantly.

"Shape shifters," I said slowly.

"Edward, you don't live in the world you thought you did," Carlisle told him gently. "The real world is full of monsters, and most supernatural myths are actually facts. Back during your time we all lived in secrecy, but about thirteen years ago, vampires took over the world as the controlling species, and humans were hunted to near extinction. But you are safe here."

Edward nodded again, but it was obvious that he didn't believe any of it. "Okay, well, I think I really need some sleep, so I'll see you later…and hopefully my dream… or delusion…or whatever the heck this is, will be finished by then."

"You _should_ rest…your body is still recuperating from the transition," Carlisle told him professionally. "Bella?" he said, signifying that I should leave the room first.

I didn't want to go…I didn't ever want to go, but I supposed Carlisle was right.

For the next two days, Edward's physical appearance improved drastically; his hair even began growing back in. After throwing up a few times, he was finally able to eat the food we brought him, and didn't question the fact that it was mostly vegetables from Esme's greenhouse garden _- why she had a greenhouse garden, I had no idea_. Edward even began to walk around a little, and use the restroom by himself. But his mental state didn't get better whatsoever. He was fully coherent and would answer questions casually, but when he'd see anyone do anything supernatural, or he'd catch a glimpse of the wolves outside, he simply ignored it.

There were moments when I'd catch him staring at me like he was trying to remember, but mostly I got the cold shoulder from him as well, so I decided I had waited around helplessly enough and it was time to actually do something again.

"Where are you going?" Alice asked as I headed outside.

"Hunting…The wolves are capable of feeding themselves, but Edward and I could both use some meat."

"Oh…do you want me to go with you?"

I smiled and shook my head no. "I'll be fine," I told her. However when Seth-wolf saw me walking towards the forest, I didn't protest him following. I actually really missed spending time with the kid, and in a way, having him there actually made me feel closer to Edward.

Alaska was much colder than Washington, but being in a forest again was definitely comforting and almost therapeutic. I had missed the trees, and hunting was always something that made me feel strong and confident.

I made myself a bow and several arrows, and after a couple of hours I had shot myself a beautiful buck.

"Are you hungry, Seth?" I asked when I noticed the strange way he was staring at it. He shook his head no, but when he crouched down I understood. "You're going to carry it back for me?" I asked him, realizing that we were quite a ways away from the house. He nodded, so I gratefully dragged the buck over to him, and used all of my strength to pull it up over his back. It was in that moment that I recognized just how out of shape I had become. Since the mating colony, I hardly had any exercise at all - Edward had carried me, or we rode in the motorhome – and I knew I needed to get back to some sort of physical activity. We couldn't just stay in Alaska forever…well, I suppose we could, but I really didn't want to; I didn't know what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go, but I definitely needed to be physically ready for anything.

So I decided to start exercising again, and I started by running all the way back to the house. It was only a couple miles or so, but I was huffing by the time we got there, which was pretty pathetic for me.

"Wow, look at that…You did good," Esme said as she saw Seth and me coming into the yard. She was standing on the porch and holding what looked like a glass of water, and then I noticed Edward sitting on the swing there, wrapped in a blanket to protect himself from the cold.

"Yeah, it's a nice one," I agreed tiredly while pulling the buck off of Seth's back.

"You killed that?" Edward asked surprised.

"Yep," I said while patting my new bow which was hanging on my shoulder.

"And your oversized dog there just carried it back for you?"

"Seth isn't an oversized dog, but yes, he carried it back for me."

"Oh, I forgot, he's a werewolf," he said sarcastically.

"Shape-shifter," I corrected.

"Hey, you know, I'd kind of like to see him shift his shape…Or is that something he can only do during a full moon?"

I shrugged. "He'd be naked."

"I'll get him a pair of shorts," Esme said before disappearing into the house, and then quickly reappearing with some shorts.

"Seth, you feel like showing off?" I asked him.

He nodded, so I took a step back and turned to face Edward so that I wouldn't have to see him naked. I could feel the ground vibrate as he phased, but I never looked away from Edward's face as his eyes grew twice the size as normal.

"Oh lord," he said as a teenage boy stood in the wolf's place.

"Still don't believe us?" I asked him with a smirk.

Edward blinked a few times, and then shrugged. "That only further proves that I'm crazy and stuck in this loony bin," he said casually.

"And what's that thing?" I asked him while pointing at the holey motorhome.

"I don't know, some deranged train car?"

I shook my head at him, but the sad look on Seth's face just about broke my heart. "Thanks for the help, Seth," I told him after he got dressed. "I'm going to build a big fire later and cook up this meat, you guys are more than welcome to come for dinner."

"Thanks," Seth said somberly while giving Edward a longing look.

"I know," I told him understandingly. "I miss him too."

…

I suppose I could have just used the kitchen to cook the deer meat, but to be honest, I never used a real kitchen before and wasn't sure how any of it worked. Besides, it was fun to cook over an open fire, and it just felt natural.

Surprisingly, the wolves weren't the only ones who came to enjoy the cookout - the Cullens all came to sit around the fire, as did Rose's coven the Denalis, which was kind of surreal to see. I had always been taught that vampires avoided flames like the plague, but then again, Edward was never afraid, and many of my father's teachings about vampires were inaccurate so I shouldn't have been surprised at all.

"Hey, where's Edward?" Seth asked when he noticed that Edward was the only one who wasn't there.

"He didn't feel like coming out," I told him. "He's still convinced this is the loony bin."

Seth sighed, but Jasper got mad. "That's it, I'm sick of this shit!" he said angrily. "We should be focusing on getting Emmett back, not being held up by Edward's mental self-preservation. Vampire or not, we could really use his ideas for this."

"Where are you going?" Carlisle asked him concerned.

"To go get Edward," Jasper replied sternly. "I've given him time to heal and sort things out mentally, now we're going to do this my way…"


	28. Most Beautiful

***A/N: This chapter is a little shorter than normal because it was actually part of the last one, but it just got too long so I had to break it up. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 28 – Most Beautiful

Jasper was back in less than five minutes, and he was dragging Edward behind him forcefully.

"Easy now, Jasper," Carlisle insisted.

"Nope, we're all done being easy on him. He's not sick anymore, just _weak_," Jasper said harshly while pushing Edward down on his knees.

"What are you doing with me?" Edward asked confused, but not at all frightened.

Jasper twisted Edward's arm behind his body and then pulled it up into an obviously painful position. "What year is it?" Jasper asked him aggressively.

"What the hell are you doing, that hurts!" Edward shouted at him.

"What year is it?" Jasper asked again while pulling his arm even more.

"Jasper, he's not a vampire, you can't put his arm back on if it breaks off," Esme said worriedly.

"Yeah well, he has two. What year is it?" Jasper continued.

"Bloody hell!" Edward groaned from the pain, but still refused to answer the question.

"Jasper, stop, it's not working," I pleaded.

After seeing Edward in so much pain from the transition, it killed me to see him hurting again, but Jasper refused to back down. He let go of Edward's arm, but then pulled him over to a pile of snow, and shoved him down face first. Edward was only wearing a thin sweater, so I could only imagine just how miserably cold he was.

"Why are you doing this?" Edward shouted when Jasper let him up.

"Hey, it was your idea," Jasper told him before shoving his face back into the snow.

"Jasper," I protested again, but he still wouldn't listen.

"Where are we?" … "What year is it?" … "How old are you?" Jasper continued to question him while issuing various blows of pain, but Edward just didn't have any answers so Jasper decided on a different course of action. "Rose, come here," he instructed her.

"Um…I'd prefer to stay out of this, actually," Rose said indifferently.

"He thinks you're his wife Rose, so get over here!" Jasper demanded.

She huffed. "Fine…but if you mess up my hair," she warned.

"Yeah, yeah," Jasper appeased her, and then he suddenly grabbed her in a headlock, thus messing up her hair regardless of her request.

"What the hell are you doing?" Edward asked as he watched the scene in front of him.

"Yeah jerk, what the hell are you doing?" Rose mumbled from the confines of Jasper's armpit.

"You better remember who you are real quick before I snap her neck!" Jasper warned Edward.

Edward looked at everyone around the fire as if they were all crazy for allowing such behavior, and when no one did anything, he shrugged. "Well, if everyone thinks this is acceptable, then that just proves I'm the crazy one."

He glanced at me and our eyes met for a brief moment, but it was long enough for Jasper to notice, and before I could even see him move, somehow I ended up in Jasper's death grip. He was behind me with one arm wrapped around my waist, and the other knotted in my hair so he could use it to yank my head to the side exposing my throat.

"Now what are you doing?" Edward asked with his indifference beginning to falter.

"I'm a vampire, Edward…and I haven't had fresh human blood in weeks. I'd say I'm quenching my thirst," Jazz replied darkly.

I wasn't sure what kind of expression I had on my face, but I couldn't imagine it being a good one. I wasn't afraid of Jasper killing me, but at the same time, I definitely worried about him biting me. The only other vampire to ever bite me besides Edward was that _stage two_, and thankfully Edward had re-bitten the spot immediately after, so I could honestly say the only real scars I had were in the shape of _Edward's_ teeth…and I didn't want that changing.

Edward looked around at everyone there again, almost begging with his eyes for someone to help me, but no one budged, and Jasper wasn't going to back down this time. Suddenly I had a déjà vu flashback from when Edward and I were in Phoenix in a similar position, except the difference was, when Jasper pressed his mouth to my neck, he didn't actually bite down and I was finally able to feel the difference. The lack of pain was strange to me and almost traumatic in a way, as the realization that Edward would never bite me again hit me full force.

I could feel my face crumble from the emotional blow…and that must have done it. One moment Edward looked lost and helpless, and the next he was in action. He charged us, so Jasper released me just as Edward hit him full force…and it was_ forceful_. Jasper shockingly flew backwards from Edward's impact, and landed hard against the boulder several feet back, causing it to crack right down the middle. Everyone froze in stunned bewilderment.

"What the hell just happened?" Garrett asked after a moment.

When the shock subsided, Alice rushed to Jasper's side to make sure he was okay…and Edward rushed to mine.

"Did he seriously just bite you?" Edward asked protectively.

I rubbed the spot Jasper's lips were just attacked to, and then shook my head no.

But Edward wasn't convinced with my word. He grabbed my neck gently but securely, and ran his fingertips over the spot to make sure my skin was never broken. When he was satisfied that I was, in fact, untainted by Jasper's teeth, he pulled me into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry I trusted you with him, I should have known better." He pulled back and looked at me intensely with his green eyes blazing. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," I whispered, still confused by his actions.

And then he unexpectedly kissed my forehead, before letting his concern morph into fury. He pulled back from me, and then turned to face Jasper who was just barely recovering from the shock of Edward's inhuman level of force.

"What the fuck were you doing?" Edward asked him irately. "I will not hesitate to rip your fucking head off if you ever touch her again!"

Jasper stared at him for a moment, and then he smiled. "Well, welcome back brother."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Edward asked confused…and then he paused and put his hand on his chest. "Holy shit, I have a heartbeat!"

"Don't tell me you can't remember the past week now?" Jasper asked incredulously.

Edward thought about it for a minute. "Being ugly is a terribly traumatic thing, it's perfectly normal to block something like that out," he said pompously. The he turned back to me. "I'm not ugly anymore, am I?"

I smiled at him, and felt a zing zip through my entire body. Edward was back. _My Edward_. He had been through hell and back, and he did it for me.

"Hey, come here," Edward said to me gently before wrapping me in his arms again.

I didn't realize until that moment that I was crying. "You didn't remember me," I said pathetically.

"I'm so sorry," he cooed before kissing my hair. "I don't know what the hell was wrong with me."

"Well, it seems maybe Jasper was onto something," Carlisle said contemplatively. "Your mind had shut itself off for protection, but that brings us to this question – How are you feeling now that you can remember everything?"

Edward still had his arms around me, but he pulled back slightly to look at Carlisle. "I feel fine. I really don't understand why I shut it off at all."

"Guilt," Jasper stated.

"I don't feel guilty about shit," Edward said casually. "Why the hell would I feel guilty about being a vampire and doing the things vampires do? The only thing I regret is being a pussy and going to the leaders about your work," he told Carlisle. "Everything else…" he waved his hand in the air symbolizing that it was all nothing. "But I do think congratulations are in order, Carlisle. Your life's work worked."

Carlisle smiled. "Thank you, and I am definitely pleased with the outcome."

"Uh…I don't mean to cut this little celebration short or anything, but can we talk about the more important issue here?" Garrett asked. "How the hell was he able to send Jasper flying like that? I've never seen a human display that type of strength."

"Well, the mind is capable of doing incredible things," Carlisle mused. "For a brief moment he forgot he was human, so to him he had no reason to believe he couldn't do it."

"So you're saying it was a mind over matter, kind of thing?" Garrett asked.

"It's definitely a possibility… Or maybe I just didn't get the proper dosage of the cure right," he said unexpectedly.

"Wait, you mean I might not be human after all?" Edward asked confused.

"I'd like to run some blood work, if you don't mind. Your heart is beating, you've been breathing air and consuming food, so I'd say you're human, but it's possible you may have a fraction of vampire left in you. We'll do some testing and try to figure it all out."

"Alright, we'll do that…_tomorrow_," Edward agreed. "Right now we're going to consume some deer meat…_not blood_," he said with a smirk, "and then I'm taking my woman to bed."

I looked at him pleasantly surprised. "We could always eat later."

He considered it, but then he shook his head no. "We need the protein…and there won't be a later; I'm not letting you go for the rest of the night."

"Promise?"

Edward shot me a mischievous smirk, and then leaned in for a kiss. I had never felt a human's mouth on mine before, and for a fleeting second I was nervous. _What if it didn't feel the same?_ And of course it didn't feel the same…it was better. His skin was still cold from Jasper's thrust into the snow, which was kind of nice because it was the temperature I was used to, but when his lips began moving with mine, they quickly warmed. His warmth was not only more appealing, but the soft texture of his flesh was one of the most incredible things I had ever felt and instantly sent me into a wave of desire.

"I think you better forget the meat and take her to bed now," Jasper suggested.

"God, I can smell you all the way from here," Kate added.

Edward smiled against my lips. "Why Bella, are you horny?"

I smiled back at him. "You've been indisposed for almost a week now, what do you think?"

"That is definitely a smell I'm going to miss," he said wistfully.

"Oh, humans can smell arousal," I informed him seductively. "We just have to be closed off in a room somewhere and pressed against each other to really detect it."

Edward nodded absently. "Okay, let's go do that."

I giggled. "I thought you were hungry?"

"We can eat later…and by later I mean tomorrow…or maybe the next day depending on how long I keep you locked up in there."

I laughed again, and then nearly lost my breath as Edward yanked me by the arm back towards the house.

"Damn it, humans are so freaken slow," Edward grumbled as we practically ran to the house.

By the time we got all the way up stairs to the room he had been staying in, we were both huffing, but not even tiredness was going to stop us at that point.

Our mouths crashed back together as we simultaneously began ripping off our clothes. Edward was still thinner than he was as a vampire, but I really didn't care because having his soft heated skin pressed against mine was absolutely incredible.

I ran my fingertips over his exposed flesh, and caressed my way up his torso to his newly grown in buzz length hair. "Tell me you love me," I asked him.

"I love you so much," he murmured, and then he took my hand off of his head, and placed it on his chest. "Every beat is for you."

I hugged myself closer to him so that my head was resting on his collarbone. "I would have changed for you…still will, if you want."

He gently lifted my chin so that I was looking at him. "There is nothing about you that I want changed, because you are absolutely perfect the way you are."

"You were perfect before too…but you still are. I love you no matter what you are."

He smiled at me heavily. "And I'd still love you either way, so we'll just wait and see how it goes."

I nodded in agreement, and then our passion took back over. When all of our clothes were off, we somehow made it onto the bed, and my nerves returned. I was used to having sex with a vampire - even when it was tender, it was still rough just because of the hardness of his body and his limitless strength – what if I was ruined sexually to the point where a human could never be enough? Edward and I had previously spoken about us parting ways and me moving on with my life by getting married to some random human in my village, and I could easily remember thinking that I'd never be physically satisfied by a human... Of course, I loved Edward regardless of his form and would never dislike making love to him, but simply from a physical aspect I was anxious.

However, when he pushed into me for the first time as a human, all my concerns evaporated because I realized then that it was never about his vampirism…it was just _him_. Edward had ruined me sexually to the point that I doubted anyone else could ever make me feel that good, and even after just a few thrusts, I was already feeling it.

But the sensation obviously wasn't mutual – his face almost looked pained the way it did the first time we ever had sex, and somehow I understood the problem.

"Edward," I said as he continued to move in and out of me slowly.

He looked at me, but didn't respond verbally.

"You can't hurt me anymore," I whispered. "We're the same now…just, let go."

He wasn't at his full strength, but I knew that wasn't his issue. He wasn't used to his new body and probably had no idea how much exertion to use, but my simple words seemed to reassure him because he quickly picked up his pace, and his face morphed from pained restraint, to indulgent ecstasy.

He began slamming into me in a way that he was never able to before, and I felt my inner walls clamping down on him much sooner than I intended. He moaned from my pulsating tightness, but kept his rhythm hard and fast, which only made my climax that much stronger.

But even more than the incredible feeling of our connection, I couldn't get over how amazingly different human Edward actually was. Not only was his skin soft and warm, but as I kissed his neck I noticed the unfamiliar saltiness of his sweat. His smell, the noises he made, the way his muscles tensed, the feeling of his pulse thumping below my palms; it was all intoxicatingly delicious, and I wondered how I lived so long without any of it. Even the new feeling of his hot ejaculation was a turn on I was never expecting. It was all so pure, and raw, and primal, and above everything else, it was just naturally right and gave me a sense of completeness that I never knew existed before. This was the way it was supposed to be… Life, at its most beautiful.


	29. Making Plans

Chapter 29 – Making Plans

Edward continued to thrust into me through our climax, but on our ride back down from the peak, I gasped at the shocking feeling of his teeth clamping down on my neck.

"Sorry, force of habit," he said with a sinister smirk.

I could already tell his bite didn't break the skin, but it pinched to the point where it was definitely going to leave a mark…and I couldn't have been happier about it. It was more than enough to make up for the actual vampire bite, and the fact that I didn't have to worry about bleeding to death was just a bonus.

So I did the only thing I could think of…I bit him back.

"Ow!" he protested. "I'm the biter, not you."

"No, this is just the first time I could bite you without breaking my teeth," I said with a giggle.

"Well, that hurt and I'm sensitive," he joked.

"Ah, poor baby."

"I am a baby…I was just reborn…for the second time."

I nodded. "That's true."

"In fact, like most babies, I'm really into boobs right now," he said before kissing his way towards my breasts…and then biting my nipple hard.

"Ow!" I laugh-cried. "That hurt even more than a vampire bite," I protested, which of course, was immediately followed by another rush of desire.

"It's not my fault…I think I have some vamp left in me," he said with faux innocence.

"Lucky us," I said seriously.

"Oh, well if you prefer the vampire, I'll just go have Carlisle bite me again."

"No," I said with a giggle as I held him tighter against me and locked my legs around his waist. "I like what you are right now…let's just stay like this for a while."

"Okay, but I am getting pretty old and I'm not going to want to be changed for very much longer. Who would want to be a senior citizen for the rest of time?"

I giggled again. "Well, at a hundred and seventy one you're doing pretty well for yourself."

"Yeah especially with my eighteen year old girlfriend…or are you nineteen now?"

I shrugged because I had no idea.

"Either way it's still disturbing. And to think, I used to consider Hugh Heffner disgusting," he said while shaking his head slowly.

"Who's Hugh Heffner?" I asked confused.

"He was a famous old dude that always had beautiful young girlfriends and wives…. He was long before your time, which just further proves my point."

"Was he as sexy as you?"

He laughed. "He was just about as sexy as I'm sure I was a few days ago."

"Well, up until now, the you from a few days ago was certainly the sexiest human I had ever seen."

He laughed again. "Yeah, I'm sure. It's just a good thing that mutt imprinted, he would have really been heartbroken to know you preferred a disgusting prune over him."

I smiled. "I'd prefer you in any state over anyone."

"Eh, it's just because I'm that good at fucking."

"_Good_ is an offensive word in that context."

"Oh don't worry, I'll keep improving."

"I'm not worried, and trust me, there's nothing you need to improve on."

I could honestly say it was the best night of my life. Edward and I would make love, and then sleep wrapped up in each other's arms for a few hours, before waking and making love again. And when morning finally came, I laid awake and just watched his peaceful unconscious form in utter amazement. Edward was sleeping; a sight I never imagined I'd see. He had slept a lot while he was first healing, but this was different, this was just normal human nightly rejuvenation, which for him, was wonderfully surreal.

He had also continued to improve physically during our all night love session, and looked even more beautiful by morning as he laid there perfectly content. But by late morning we were both awake and humanities drearier aspects forced us out of bed.

"I think we should go back to the mating colony and steal a few cows," Edward said with a yawn as we walked down to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

"I can always hunt for meat here," I told him.

"I don't want the cows for meat; I want them for the milk."

I rolled my eyes. "You're not really a baby."

"Okay, in my time, we used milk for all sorts of things. We could make cream, and cheeses; hell, milk is good to just drink at any age. I really have no idea how your village has survived with the lack of calcium."

"Well, we do farm when we can…some vegetables have calcium."

He shook his head. "You have no idea what you've been missing."

"You should talk; for a hundred and fifty years you had nothing but blood."

"And that was all the nutrition a vampire needs. Humans, on the other hand, need more."

"Ah, you're up. Good morning to you both," Carlisle greeted us as he breezed into the room. "As soon as you're ready for some testing, let me know."

"Sure thing," Edward replied.

After we found something to eat, Edward's thoughts lined perfectly with mine as he announced it was time for him to start an exercise regimen.

"So you're going running?" I asked enthusiastically. I had decided the day before that I wanted to start running daily, so I was excited that it was something we could do together.

"Yeah…you wanna come?"

"Hell yes. I'm so out of shape."

He smiled and pulled me into him before running his hands down my thighs. "I'd say you're in a pretty good shape actually."

"Mmm," I hummed against his lips as he kissed me. "But I need to be in better shape if you're going to keep me pulling those all-nighters."

"Good point, let's go," he said before taking off outside and straight into the forest.

We jogged for about three miles, took a sex break, and then picked up our pace into a steady but fast run for another mile. I was absolutely exhausted, but Edward, though drenched in sexy sweat, hardly even panted; there was definitely something inhuman about him. Thankfully he had mercy on me and escorted me back to the house, where I basically collapsed on the porch and poured water down my throat as I panted for air.

"Are you going back out?" I asked him as I worked on controlling my breathing.

"Nah, I should let Carlisle do his blood tests."

I nodded. "Definitely. Just last night you had a hard time running from the fire to the upstairs bedroom, and now today you seem to be tireless."

"I don't know, maybe Carlisle did get the dosage wrong. I mean, my heart is racing, but…I feel good."

"Well, since you feel so good, why don't we see just how strong you are," Jasper said, suddenly coming out of the house with a mischievous grin.

"You really want to rumble, Jasper?" Edward asked pompously. "You know, if I were you I'd be too fucking embarrassed to go against me again. I can't imagine anything more humiliating than being a vampire taken down by a human."

Jasper rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Just because it happened once, doesn't mean you can do it again. You took me off guard before…nothing more."

"We'll see about that," Edward replied with a smirk. He began stretching his arms and cocking his head back and forth to crack his neck, and then he got into a defensive position.

"Oh, please be careful, Jasper," Esme said concerned. I didn't even hear her come out of the house; actually I didn't hear any of them and was shocked when I noticed that a crowd of vampires and wolf people had gathered to watch the rumble.

"You know, if this were a real fight, I'd just punch a hole right in your chest and rip out your heart before your slow human eyes even had a chance to see me move," Jasper said casually.

"That would be interesting," Edward replied unconcerned.

The two abruptly slammed into each other, and I uncontrollably blinked from the loud noise of the impact. They had their arms locked around each other like some wrestling hold, but then out of nowhere, Edward somehow threw Jasper over his shoulder and hard into the ground. Jasper laid there in shock for a moment, and when he got back up there was a crater in the earth in the shape of his body.

"Whoa!" Garrett shouted impressed.

"Awesome!" Seth added.

"Holy shit," Jacob said quietly.

"How is that even possible?" Kate asked.

Edward and Jasper got back into position and restarted the fight. But when Edward seemingly anticipated Jasper's moves, it became clear that something else had returned to him since losing his vampirism.

"You heard my thoughts!" Jasper accused him.

Edward shrugged. "Maybe…Or maybe you're just losing your fighting abilities."

"Come on, stop fucking around. Can you read my mind?" Jasper asked seriously.

Edward huffed and decided to give him a serious answer. "It's not like it was before, and I'm not really sure how to describe it…I could almost _sense_ your moves in a way. Like it was instinctual."

"Concentrate," Carlisle instructed. "Quiet your mind and try to hear Jasper's thoughts."

So Edward did as he was told and listened for Jasper…but then he shook his head. "I don't hear anything… It's kind of nice actually."

"Well, sensing your opponent's moves during a fight is definitely an amazing feat by itself," Carlisle said encouragingly.

"Hey, training newborns is my specialty, and I still think you'll be able to read minds again with practice," Jasper told Edward.

Edward shrugged. "Maybe."

Garrett took a turn sparring with Edward and was also taken down, but nothing was more entertaining and nerve-racking then when Jacob decided to get into it...

"You better not hurt him, Jake," I threatened him. Jasper had a personal relationship with Edward and would never really hurt him, and Garrett didn't have a reason to hurt him either, but Jacob had been waiting to fight him since they first met and I could just see it going too far.

"Or else what? Are you going to retaliate against me?" Jacob asked with a laugh.

"Bet your ass I will."

Jacob smirked at me carelessly, and Edward used his distraction to shove him hard, sending him flying across the yard.

"Hey, I wasn't ready yet!" Jacob protested.

"Rule number one in any fight mutt - _always _be ready," Edward told him. And then he unexpectedly tried to side swipe Seth who was standing next to him, but Seth was able to duck out of the way just in time. "See that?" Edward said smugly to Jacob. "You could learn a thing or two from the kid here."

Seth's proud grin lit up his entire face.

"You probably planned that ahead of time," Jacob pouted as he walked back over to them. "Seth is like your lap dog."

"We didn't plan shit," Edward told him arrogantly. "The difference between you and him is that you've never seen any real action, whereas Seth here, along with your girlfriend, has been fighting for their lives for years."

"I may not have fought for my life before, but I do know how to fight," Jacob said quietly.

"Prove it," Edward challenged him. So Jacob got into a position to attack, but Edward put up his hand to stop him. "You're practically helpless in this form, go ahead and phase."

Jacob shook his head. "As much as I'd like to bite off one of your limbs, I've made a vow to never hurt a human and I'm not sure I'll be able to control it in my wolf form."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Cut the bullshit and just do it. No one is here, you don't have to worry about daddy's opinion or the backlash of the village council. Now get on all fours and let's do this!"

"He asked for it, Bella," Jacob warned me before erupting into his wolf. Jasper and Carlisle both took steps forward, and looked to be ready to jump in and beat the shit out of Jake if he crossed the line. I was grateful for them, but it quickly became obvious that their protectiveness wasn't necessary as Edward repeated the same move he did on Jacob-wolf before…he punched him square in the muzzle.

"And that would be a K.O. people!" Jasper gloated with his arms in the air celebrating Edward's victory. "That is one badass human that neither vampire nor wolf should mess with!"

"Fuck no they shouldn't," Edward agreed with a fist pump to Jasper, followed by a couple high fives to Seth and Garrett.

"You totally pissed off my sister, but that was hella cool!" Seth told him.

Jacob eventually got up, and strangely had a new level of respect for Edward. All the guys messed around for a bit more, but when the girls lost interest and went about their business, I decided to head in and take a shower. I wasn't in there very long, but when I got out the human/supernatural rumble outside had dissipated and I wasn't sure where Edward went off to.

"Hey, have you seen Edward?" I asked Esme after I went into the living room looking for him.

"You must've just missed him. He headed upstairs to let Carlisle do the blood work."

"Thanks," I said with a smile before taking off back up the stairs. The office door wasn't shut all the way, but I decided to knock anyway just to be polite.

"Come on in, Bella," Carlisle said warmly.

I walked into the room and saw Carlisle drawing Edward's blood into three little vials.

Edward looked up at me. "You know, seeing blood coming out of me like this is really a trip."

I giggled. "Yeah, I bet….But how does that work anyway?" I asked Carlisle while giving Edward a quick kiss on the lips. "I mean, is this _his_ blood…or the blood that was transfused into him?"

"When his heart pumps it through his body and creates new cells, the blood becomes his own. It's been long enough now that we can safely say it's all his now."

"Oh my god, Edward," I said when I noticed that his arms were covered in bruises. I lifted his shirt and found even more on his stomach and chest.

"They're just surface wounds from fighting the guys…they don't hurt," he assured me.

"Carlisle, could he have any internal damage to his organs?" I asked concerned.

"I'm fine," Edward insisted unconcerned.

"Edward is definitely an odd mix of human and vampire; I bent four needles just trying to get one into his vein, so I don't think you need to be worried about his organs at this point, but he should be a little more careful than he was today," Carlisle suggested. "We'll know more when I'm finished with the testing."

Carlisle withdrew the needle, and immediately began testing the blood for whatever he was testing it for, but Edward didn't leave the room the way I assumed he would.

"What's wrong?" I asked as he began shifting through the various metal scrap on the table there. It looked as though Carlisle had cleaned up the mess that Maria's henchman had made in the room, but much of it was still in pieces.

"I'm just thinking," he replied vacantly.

I wrapped my arms around him from behind, and was surprised to discover that just since that morning Edward's physique had already changed again. His muscles were more built and defined, in fact, he was close to surpassing what he was as a vampire.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked him while kissing his shoulder blade.

"I've just been trying to come up with a way to get Emmett back…well, to be honest, I've been trying to come up with a way to get a lot of things back."

"What do you mean?"

"The world today is in shambles….and we can blame vampires as a whole, but that would be unfair because they've been around since the beginning of time without causing this much unrest… The sole responsibility for this disgusting state is Stefan and Vladimir's."

"Yeah, but what can we do about it?" I asked confused.

"I think the answer is a revolution," he said unexpectedly. "Our leaders need to be replaced, and a war is the only way it's going to happen."

"But exchanging one governing coven for another wouldn't really change anything for humans."

"It would if we had leaders that understood the importance of being inconspicuous; eventually we could get things back to the way they used to be."

"There are many more vampires than before," Carlisle pointed out. "And not nearly enough humans to repopulate."

Edward was quiet as he thought about it for a moment, and then looked around the room as if he was coming up with a plan. "You said the cure took you a century to make?" he asked Carlisle.

"Yes…well, longer really."

"And it will take a long time to recreate?"

"The ingredients need time to activate and become potent. It's a process," Carlisle explained vaguely.

"Is there any way to speed it up…even if you doubt it will actually completely work?"

"I've never had any subjects to test out my concoctions….I tried biting a rat so I could work on curing it, but the thing just died."

Edward nodded. "But you're a smart man… You know what different combinations of things can do, which was why you knew the thing I took was the right one."

He thought about it for a moment. "Yes, I believe so, but what good will that do? If it can't cure anyone, then what's the point?"

"To kill them," Edward said emotionlessly. "We need to reduce the vampire population in order for the human population to flourish again. If we could somehow get it into the blood bank…we could eliminate a great number of vampires. I would have died after taking your cure if you didn't give me fluids, and got my heart beating, and my lungs breathing again; if you can make something that will have a similar affect…"

"Hold on!" Jasper said as he rushed into the room. He must have been listening from wherever he was at the time, which pretty much seemed to happen a lot with vampires; no matter where one was in the house at any given time, conversations always involved everyone. "You're talking about killing hundreds of innocent vampires here. Maybe even thousands. It's exactly what you accused Carlisle of trying to do when you went to the leaders a decade ago."

"Yeah…but I was wrong back then, and I've admitted it and apologized. We'll never eradicate the vampire race, that is not what I'm trying to do, but…there's just too many. The balance is off Jasper, even you have to see that. When a predator overpopulates and over-hunts its prey, a domino effect occurs that throws off the entire ecosystem which could essentially destroy the entire world if not stopped. It's been proven over and over again with various species throughout time. Something needs to be done before both races end up extinct."

Jasper nodded in understanding. "I suppose you're right…I just…I can't give tainted blood to people I've associated with and become friendly with."

"Then just give it to the ones you don't particularly like," Edward said casually.

"So…we take out a great number of vampires, and then what?" I asked, just trying to understand everything.

"Stefan and Vlad never drink from the bank, and neither do their personal guards….they always drink fresh blood straight from the vein, so regardless of how many we kill with Carlisle's concoction, we still need to overthrow them."

"And that's where the revolution comes into play?" Jasper said with a nod.

"Exactly."

"And if we did somehow win this revolution…would that make Carlisle the new leader of the vampire world?" I asked.

"Oh no, I have no desire for that kind of responsibility," Carlisle said quickly.

"Vampires can't have a compassionate leader," Edward explained. "They're dark and vicious by nature, they'd never follow anyone they weren't afraid of."

"It seems you already have someone in mind," Jasper questioned.

"The coven in Austin…. It has some of the most powerful vampires I've ever met, even stronger than the leaders…and they hate Stefan and Vlad, but more importantly, they have allowed the humans there to maintain somewhat of a normal daily life, which is exactly what we need. If we can convince them to rise up and take over the vampire world…the entire world could benefit, especially humans."

Carlisle nodded. "I see what you're saying Edward, but even with that coven, I just don't see how we could possibly take down Stefan and Vladimir's entire army."

"Well, do you think you can make more of these?" Edward asked him while holding up the flame thrower thingy.

Carlisle nodded. "Sure…it's not hard, but I may run out of material soon."

"So…you want to use weapons to get to the leaders?" I questioned.

"It still wouldn't be enough," Jasper told him. "The guard members could easily outrun the flames."

"Not if they're distracted," Edward replied. "If we use every vampire who's willing to help us, then it'll be enough to attack the guard and keep them busy long enough for the flame throwers to be of use."

"But with all of us fighting, who would use the flame throwers?" Jasper asked.

"Humans," Edward stated unexpectedly.

"Huh?" Jasper and I said at the same time.

Edward laughed at my expression. "Don't look so surprised love, it was _your_ idea."

"It was?"

"Back in Texas, you wanted to teach the people to rise up and fight for themselves."

"Yeah…maybe against one coven, not in a revolution against the most powerful army in existence."

"Like I said, the army will be distracted in the fight, and the humans will be further back with the flame throwers. We'll need to like…wear uniforms or something so the humans know who not to shoot."

"But out of all those people in Texas, only a few looked like they could be up for a battle of any kind," I argued.

"This isn't a draft. We'll plea our case and then see how many able bodied human fighters we can get. But destroying the mating colony will have to come first so we can use humans from there as well…and we'll need to go to your village too. We need as many humans as we can get for this."

"You know, this might actually work out even better than the flame throwers for your plan," Carlisle said while holding up what looked like a large gun of some sort. "It's a machine gun."

"Vampires are bulletproof," I said confused.

"Yes, against normal bullets, but not these," he said while holding up what looked like a small missile.

"What's that?" Edward asked excitedly.

"It explodes on impact and immediately bursts into flames."

"Carlisle, you are a genius," Edward said in awe as he looked it over. "It's perfect, we just need like a hundred more guns and thousands of bullets."

"Well, I doubt I'll be able to make that many, but we can see what we can do."

"Even with the weapons, they'll need some training," Jasper suggested.

"Definitely," Edward agreed before looking at me again. "So…what do you think? Will your father be up to the fight?"

I bit my bottom lip as I considered it. I never expected to see Charlie again, and a major part of me was worried about what he'd do after learning about Emmett being a vampire and me befriending some, but if it was a chance at ultimately restoring the natural balance of the world, then I was sure he'd join us. So I nodded. "It'll take some convincing…he won't be comfortable with working alongside any vampire, even ones that promise to only feed on animals, but I think it's worth trying."

"Okay, then you and I will go down there and talk to him, while Carlisle makes the concoction to poison the blood bank, and everyone else here can work on building as many weapons as possible," Edward decided. "In three weeks' time we all meet in Austin and hash out the remaining details with everyone."

"What if they don't go for it?" I asked. "Everything rests on this Austin coven agreeing to take over and lead the vampire world, but what if they don't?"

"They will…If I know them the way I think I do, they'll be more than happy with the plan…especially after I give them the gift I have in mind."

"What gift?" I asked curiously.

"The location of Bella's village?" Jasper guessed.

I clinched my teeth.

"Nope, something even better," Edward said with a grin. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to secure it or not, but if I can it may just make losing the battle impossible."

Carlisle nodded and then patted Edward on the shoulder. "Well, whatever it is, this sounds like a good solid plan, Edward. I really am proud of you, son."

"Thanks Carlisle, that means a lot." Edward turned to me and raised his brows. "You ready for another road trip?"

I smiled and then grabbed his hand. "As long as we stay together, I'm ready for anything."


	30. The Village

Chapter 30 – The Village

So we patched up the holes in the motorhome, restocked the pantry, refilled the water tank, and headed back on the road. The wolves decided to come with us, but obviously we had to go sans vampires; it was the only way to get my father to actually hear us out before making a decision. And of course, that little detail worried Esme…

"I just wish Jasper could go with you for protection. It's a dangerous world out there," she said as she hugged us goodbye.

"We're all the protection they need," Jacob assured her.

I glanced at Edward just in time to see him roll his eyes from Jake's comment. "Austin in three weeks," he reiterated to Carlisle and Jasper. They both nodded in response.

Rose and her coven were also in and planned to help with preparations while we were away, but I knew Edward felt slightly uncomfortable about it. It was hard for a vampire, or a former vampire in Edward's case, to trust anyone outside their own coven, and though the Denalis were their closest allies, Edward hated leaving at that crucial time.

"_You could stay here while I go with the wolves," I had offered, knowing Edward was stressed about it._

"_There's no way in hell I trust them to protect you," he had replied_.

So the five of us were off on yet another journey with an unpredictable outcome. If we were to drive all the way through, we could make it to Washington in about two and a half days, but because Edward was the only one who knew how to drive and he was human and would need to take breaks, we were probably looking at three or four days on the road, which definitely wasn't bad.

Jake and Leah decided it was best to sleep during the day, and at night they'd keep watch while Edward and I slept, which I suppose was a good idea. Seth just slept whenever he felt like it.

By the second day on the road, I noticed another new change in Edward…stubble.

"You're all poky," I said with a giggle as I pet his face. I was, once again, sitting on his lap as he was driving, but his new human hair growth was driving me insane with desire. It seemed everything about Edward made me feel that way; when he was a vampire, I lusted after his vampire traits, and since he became a human, the simplest human physicality was a complete turn on. I suppose when he changed, I must have too.

Edward reached up and felt his chin. "Huh."

"What?" I asked, having a hard time containing my smile.

"I'm completely embarrassed to admit, but I never had facial hair before."

"Well, vampires don't grow hair."

"Not just when I was a vampire…as a human. I guess I was more boy than man back then," he said slightly bitter, but then he sighed. "I guess all this sex has finally kicked on my testosterone for the first time."

"Oh right, like you didn't have sex as a human before. I've seen Rose, she's gorgeous."

"We were married and trying for a baby…but it was a fucking chore. I've had sex with you more times just since my re-re-birth than I ever had my first go at humanity."

"Sure."

"It's the god's honest truth…And my new facial hair is proof."

I giggled. "Okay, if you say so…But does that mean that you don't know how to shave?" I teased him playfully.

He smirked. "I bet I can figure it out."

"I don't know though, I'm kind of liking this right now," I told him before kissing and nipping at his stubbly jaw.

"You just live in a constant state of arousal. I could have snot hanging from my nose and you'd probably ask to lick it."

"Do you have any?" I deadpanned.

"Ugh! You seriously get turned on by the grossest shit."

"Are you calling yourself gross? Because for me, it's all about _you_, baby."

He stared at me for a moment, and then huffed as if he was pissed at something.

"What?" I asked with a mix of concern and amusement.

He shook his head. "God, I just want to fuck you right now."

My grin took back over my face. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It is…Fuck! It's all I fucking think about, and it's driving me insane. _These stupid human hormones_. How the hell am I supposed to concentrate on anything serious coming up when all I want to do is pound into you all the time! At least as a vampire I had the mental capacity to think of more things at once, so I could be engrossed in you and _also_ think about whatever it is that needed to be done. I mean, I'm really pathetic at this point."

"I thought we just agreed that _I _was the horny one?"

"You are abnormally horny for a woman, yes. Back in my time, it was a widely believed notion that women only had sex with their husbands to have a baby or just to keep them from straying."

"Pfft, that's ridiculous. There's nothing wrong with a woman having a high level of sexual desire for her man."

"Well, I do rather enjoy that aspect of you," he admitted.

"Uh huh," I said with a grin before kissing under his chin.

"And there it is again," he said irritated when his member stood up and made itself known. "Gah, I'm like a fucking prepubescent boy. There's just no controlling this thing."

"Well, we were just talking about sex," I pointed out.

"It's got nothing to do with the topic of conversation or the fact that you're sitting on my lap and kissing me. I get a fucking hard on practically every time I think about you, even when you're doing the most innocent mundane things. You skin a buck, I pitch a tent; you brush your fucking hair, my dick wants a better look."

I laughed again, I just couldn't help myself. "It's perfectly natural. I actually heard someone say once that a man thinks about sex every seven seconds…I don't know how accurate that is though."

"Every _seven_ seconds?…Well, that's not accurate at all for me. I'm at like every two seconds…make that just every second…sixty seconds a minute, sixty minutes an hour, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, four weeks a month, twelve months a year. I don't even know how I'm able to drive right now. I'm looking at the road, but all I see is you naked."

"Maybe you're right. You really could be just a late bloomer, and now you're finally going through puberty. I mean, technically you're only twenty one, and since human men grow until about twenty five, who knows how you'll be when you reach full maturity."

"You know, I actually don't mind the wet dreams or randomly pitching tents at all hours of the day, but I really hope I don't get any zits."

"I don't even know what you're talking about, but I have a feeling it's something dirty," I said with a laugh.

"When is it _not_ dirty with us?"

"I do like dirty."

"Well good; just wait until we've been on the road a while longer, I'm sure things will get plenty dirty."

"But you said we should get to Washington in a couple more days?" I asked, becoming serious for a moment.

"Yeah, but it's a lot further to Austin."

"True," I agreed. "Can't wait."

"Can't wait for BO? See you _are_ nasty," he said with a laugh.

"Hey, you had to deal with mine for all that time."

"A vampire's sense of smell is different than a human's. Before, there was nothing more disgusting to me than the smell of the dog back there – thankfully, as a human, I only smell his nasty farts. And to a vampire, human BO is like cinnamon rolls baking in the oven."

"Cinnamon rolls?" I asked confused.

"It's…never mind, they were before your time. Let's just say human BO is not a bad smell to vampires, it just smells like food," he clarified. "Whereas to humans, it's not as pleasant."

"Oh. Well, I suppose we'll both be suffering deliciously in a week then, won't we," I said with a grin, still not fully understanding why he was worried. _What the hell were we even talking about anyway?_

He grinned with eager anticipation, but shook his head again at the same time.

"What?" I asked amused.

"Humanity is sure different the second time around."

"Better?" I joked.

"Definitely better," he said sincerely before pulling me into him for a kiss. Our kiss immediately deepened and our tongues got involved, which I supposed was a little hazardous since he was supposed to be focused on driving, but when we were interrupted I still couldn't help but be slightly bitter…

"How much longer?" Seth whined like a little kid. He had been in the back with Jake and Leah napping, but it was safe to assume he woke up hungry, which seemed to be the norm for him. Seth was always hungry.

"A day...maybe two," Edward told him.

Seth nodded, and then as I predicted, he went to the kitchen to get himself a snack before coming back to sit in the passenger seat. "So Bella, is your dad like…super scary?" he asked me unexpectedly.

"Uh…no. Why?"

"Well, Jake is pretty scared of him. Last time we were in wolf form, his thoughts were really concerned about how this visit is going to go."

Edward raised his brows at me questionably.

"Charlie is definitely not the easiest guy to talk to, but…I'm hoping he's willing to listen long enough to understand," I told them.

"And that's all we can ask for," Edward said supportively.

"So…if we all live through this little rebellion uprising thing…will you guys move back to the village permanently?" Seth asked us.

Edward and I glanced at each other. "We haven't talked about anything beyond the battle," I told him honestly. "We're not even sure we're staying human."

"But if you do?" Seth pressed. "It's just, Jake wants to stay with his family, and Leah wants to stay with him, so I was kind of hoping you guys would stay there as well. We could all be together."

"Seth, to be honest, we have no idea what the world will look like after this battle," Edward said to him gently. "Staying in Washington may not be the best choice for anyone. All of the various human groups need to intertwine and have the ability to mix and find potential mates."

"Oh, I know, but wherever we go…we'll be together, right?" Seth asked.

"Hopefully, kid," Edward told him with a pat to his shoulder.

…

We had made excellent time without any issues, and ended up arriving in my home forest before sunset the next afternoon.

"I think we should walk the rest of the way," Jake suggested.

"Yeah, they may get a little freaked by an automobile of any kind, and automatically assume we're vampires," I agreed, so the five of us decided to hike the remaining two miles.

"Should we be in wolf form?" Leah asked anxiously as she constantly scanned the forest around us.

"Nah…This is our home, Leah," Jake said soothingly. "There's nothing to worry about…_except maybe the wrath of Charlie Swan,_" he mumbled.

"What are you so worried about, Jake?" I asked him irritated. "You and Charlie have always been like this," I said while holding up my hand and crossing my index and middle finger.

"Yeah, but that was before I went along with your little 'busting the vamp out' scheme. He's going to absolutely kill me…Or actually, he'll have Sam kill me."

"You broke his alpha command ability when you left, remember. Sam can't do anything to you."

"Except kill me."

Edward snickered. "Don't worry pup, I'll protect you."

"You know, you think you're all tough, but what if your superhuman strength is only temporary?" Jake asked him. "It could just be from the vamp crap lingering in your system, and by now it's gone."

"Let's see," Edward said before grabbing Jake's hand and squeezing it.

"Ow!" Jake hollered in pain.

"I don't know, I'd say I still have it," Edward said cockily, so I shot him a disapproving look. "What?" he said with an innocent laugh. I just shook my head at him.

We were able to make it to the village by the time the last bit of sunset color morphed into blackness, but we weren't lost in the dark because the light from the flamed wall illuminated everything.

Edward suddenly shuttered.

"Bringing back painful memories?" Jake teased him.

He scowled. "You try being locked in a fire dome, and see how you like it."

We were already holding hands, but I pulled him into me closer and hugged his arm. "Everything is going to be fine, you'll see," I assured him softly.

"You know, I'm grateful for the mental silence, but at times like this I really wish I could still read minds," he admitted.

"I love you," I told him as a simple reminder that this time he wasn't going in alone.

He smiled at me crookedly. "I love you too," he replied before returning to his tough fearless facade. "Now let's get this shit over with."

"I really think we should phase," Leah said nervously when we saw the first wolf guarding the gate.

Edward's hand tightened around mine, and Seth subtly stepped to the other side of him as if he was planning to protect him if necessary.

Jake decided to take the lead, so he stepped in front of all of us. "It's Embry," he said relieved.

"Is he your friend?" Seth asked curiously.

"We're _all_ friends…at least, we were until I betrayed them and took off on an insane mission with a vampire. Hey Embry!" he shouted. The wolf perked up his head and looked in our direction, and then two other wolves suddenly appeared beside him. "It's only Quill and Brady, we're cool."

The three wolves watched us carefully as we approached them, but didn't look upset or worried in the least so we all took a little sigh of relief.

"Hey," Jake said to them with a friendly wave.

Quill whimpered slightly.

"I missed you guys too," Jake replied. "But everything's okay, we just have something we need to talk to Charlie and Sam about."

Embry nodded and then jerked his head towards the gate, signifying their permission for us to go inside the wall…but apparently, we weren't allowed to go alone; Brady shadowed our every move, drawing the attention of anyone in the area as we walked through the village.

"Bella's back," I heard someone say as we walked.

"They're alive," I heard someone else say. A part of me wanted to stop and greet everyone as we passed, but as I looked at the faces watching us, somehow they didn't seem familiar anymore. I knew all of their names and remembered most of our interactions through the years, but they were all suddenly strangers to me, and I wasn't exactly sure what that meant.

We walked straight to the council headquarters hoping to find Charlie there…but we were met by a roadblock.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Jared asked irately. He was standing outside the building and obviously pissed about our presence, but then he shifted his anger onto Brady. "What the hell were you thinking allowing Jacob in here? You know he's been shunned."

Brady-wolf huffed.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face here after you got Charlie's daughter killed," Jared told Jacob unexpectedly.

"Uh…Hello? Not dead!" I said incredulously while pointing to myself. It seemed Jared was so angry by Jacob's presence that he didn't even see me or our friends.

Jared stared at me for a moment as if he honestly couldn't believe his eyes. "How are you alive?"

"How am I not?" I asked bitterly with my arms crossed in front of me.

Jared took two steps closer, and actually leaned in to sniff me. "How did you survive out there so long without being killed or turned into a vampire?"

"Uh…maybe it was the combination of being lucky and not stupid," I told him strongly. "Now, why don't you apologize to Jacob for being an ass."

"Holy shit!" Jared suddenly exploded. "Well, who would have thought, Jacob Black killed the vamp and brought home the chief's daughter safely. Man, I really can't believe this. You're like a true blue hero, Jake. Just wait until Charlie finds out!" he said in an excited rush before running off, assumedly to go tell everyone about the amazing Jacob.

"What vampire did I kill?" Jacob mumbled to himself confused.

"I think they're talking about me," Edward snickered. "They probably assume you finally killed me and were able to protect Bella until you made it back. It's quite amusing actually."

"Hey…I could have killed you," Jacob said defensively.

Edward patted him on the shoulder. "Keep telling yourself that, pup."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Seth echoed. Jake glared at him, but Seth dismissed it.

"This might actually work in our favor though," Edward mused. "If they believe Jacob was able to kill me, then they won't be too overly concerned about the village's safety and I'll be able to calmly gain their trust. If we're going to have any hope at all of getting them to join the revolution, then we need them to listen…which is something they won't do if they know I'm a cured vampire."

"But they saw you before…Once they actually look at you they'll recognize you," I told him.

"No…I don't think so," Jake said, agreeing with Edward for once. "All they saw was the monster before, and now Edward is scruffy and…human-y. They would have no reason to think a vampire could be cured so I highly doubt they'd ever suspect him of anything."

"Hey, I knew my stubble would come in handy," Edward gloated adorably.

"Well, it's definitely sexy," I said, having a hard time not melting myself into him right then and there.

"So…we keep quiet for a while, and let them believe whatever the hell they want to believe?" Leah asked, just to be clear.

"But we can't wait too long," Edward told us. "We need to get to Austin in two and a half weeks, and hopefully we'll be bringing more people than could possibly fit in the motorhome, so we'll need to leave as soon as possible."

"So when do we come clean then?" Jake asked.

"I think the longest we should wait is tomorrow afternoon. It's not much time to gain their trust, but I really think it's all we can spare."

"Ok, no later than tomorrow afternoon," I agreed.

Just then a crowd of people came cheering out of the building; hooting and hollering excitedly, just celebrating our return and Jacob's presumed awesomeness. When they reached us, Paul and Jared picked Jake up on their shoulders, and I couldn't help but grin at the sight. They may have been honoring him for the wrong reason, but I was happy for him because he really did deserve it. He had bravely set out on a crazy mission simply because I asked him to, and I couldn't imagine a more loyal friend. It was definitely something to be proud of.

But I wasn't able to watch them for long, because suddenly I locked eyes with Charlie…

"Bella? Is it really you?"

I smiled. "Of course it's me," I assured him. Half a beat passed, and then he closed the distance between us and wrapped me in his arms. "You're safe. Thank god. Thank you," he murmured into my ear. Then he pulled back and held me at arm's length. "I never thought I'd see you again," he told me with tears in his eyes.

"Well, to be honest, I didn't think I'd ever make it back here again either," I replied emotionally. I had been so angry at him for all his lies, but when it came down to it, he was still my dad and I was glad to see him again.

"What were you thinking leaving like that?" he asked me quietly. The celebration had paused as everyone around us stopped to watch Charlie and my reunion, which was awkward, but at least we were able to hear each other. "I thought I lost you forever. How could you disappear on me like that?"

"I needed to find Emmett," I replied softly.

He shook his head and then pulled me back in for another embrace.

"Welcome back, you two," I heard someone say.

"Hey, I want to hear all about how Jacob managed to somehow kill that vamp," Paul said, resuming the celebration.

"Somehow?" Jake asked offended. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh come on Jake, it's not an unfair question since you couldn't even control Bella."

"I'll have you know, Jake is a strong powerful wolf who could handle any tick!" Leah said defensively.

"Aw dog, you went out into the world and found yourself an imprintee, didn't you?" Jared said excitedly.

Jake smiled despite himself. "This is Leah…and her little brother Seth," he introduced them.

"Hey, you two natives?" Sam asked them.

"And shape shifters…_both_ of us," Seth said proudly.

"No shit?" Jared asked.

"I knew others had existed from different tribes, but I never expected a female to have shape shifting capabilities? That's amazing," Sam said. "Welcome; we could always use as much help here as we can get."

"And what about you? You look somewhat familiar," Paul said to Edward.

Edward shrugged. "I guess I just have one of those faces."

"Well, I'd like a few minutes with my daughter," Charlie announced before wrapping his arm around me and immediately leading me towards our old house. I looked back over my shoulder at Edward, and he looked just about as unhappy to be separated as I was, but I decided to humor my father. I had spent the last few months thinking I'd never see him again, and if all went well, we'd soon be heading towards the battle of our lives, so it was actually a good thing to get some time alone with him while I still had the chance.

"Wow…everything looks…the same," I said when we arrived in our little home. It was exactly the way it was the last time I was there, and yet, just like the village people outside, it somehow felt foreign to me.

_This was not my home anymore_. It almost felt like a container full of lies, or even a parallel dimension of sorts. A very big part of me just wanted to run out of there and never look back. I missed Edward already, and I began trying to think of excuses to get back to him.

"So…tell me; where have you been, what did you see out there?" Charlie asked me as he began boiling water over the fire pit.

"Uh…we were down in Phoenix, then made our way through Texas, and across to Florida, before going up to Alaska, and finally back here. It was sort of a round trip, in a way," I said honestly.

"And you never crossed paths with any vampires?" he asked incredulously.

"I never said that…Look dad, I'm glad to be here, but I really should get back to my friends."

"Sam will make sure they have a place to stay tonight."

I bit my lower lip. "Well…then I want to stay with them."

Charlie looked at me strangely. "You want to stay with them…or just _one_ of them?"

"What do you mean?"

"Jake found someone out there…did you find someone as well?" he asked awkwardly. "One of the guys you came here with - are you '_with'_ with one?"

"You know, speaking of that," I said, suddenly feeling angry. "How dare you try to arrange my union with Jacob!" I hadn't seen my father in what felt like a lifetime, but since he brought it up, my old anger came back whether I wanted it to or not.

"Is that what he told you?" Charlie asked surprised.

"Yeah, he admitted it. How could you do something like that? Taking away such an important choice like that is one of the cruelest things you could have done to me."

"I was never going to force you, Bella…I just wanted you to have the best."

"Oh, and Jacob Black is the best?"

"I just wanted what was best _for_ you," he tried clarifying.

"No, you wanted what was best for _you_! His dad is your best friend, so you thought – _'hell, having them together would be perfect, and I'd get a couple grand-pups out of it'_."

"I just wanted someone who could protect you. I know every young man here… and none of them would ever be good enough for you. But I thought...I thought that at least you liked Jacob a little. Bells, you have always been a spitfire," he said with a little laugh. "And at that point my biggest fear was that you'd end up alone because no guy here could ever keep up with you, especially not a normal man… So yes, I encouraged Jacob and told him that I'd try to persuade you to the best of my ability. It may have been wrong, but sweetheart, I swear, I only had your best intentions at heart."

"Whatever," I said, still bitter but realizing that it didn't really matter anymore. "Look dad, we can talk more tomorrow, but I really need to get back to my friends. This is a strange place for them."

"That's understandable. The nomadic people…your….your _brother _sent back had a hard time adjusting at first as well," he said, having a hard time even mentioning Emmett. It was clear by the cracks in his voice and his pained expression that he assumed Em was dead, but I couldn't correct him, at least not right then. I needed to wait until the right time to broach the subject, or maybe I was just a coward, either way I kept my mouth shut as he continued. "But most have adapted now, as will your friends…. I can't wait to meet the man who won your heart. I'm so glad you found someone and you're finally back home for good now."

"I should really go," I told him while heading to the door. "We'll talk in the morning, okay?"

He nodded. "I'll escort you back."

We walked at a brisk pace, and didn't speak. It was painfully uncomfortable, and I absolutely hated feeling that way with my own father, but then again, we were never all that close to begin with. Emmett had always been more of a parent to me while Charlie was busy leading the village, and I was okay with that, but after everything that happened it was much more strained than ever before.

"So…you were just living alone in the desert?" I heard Paul questioning Edward as we walked back to them. They were all still in front of the council building just sitting around and conversing, which was an odd sight to see, but I was relieved. None of them knew who Edward really was, and I was definitely grateful.

"The desert, the forest, the swamp…I got around quite a bit," Edward replied nonchalantly.

"Alone? And you never crossed paths with any vampires?" Jared asked in disbelief.

I walked around the group just in time to see Jake rolling his eyes at Jared's question.

"Hey, you're back," Edward said when he saw me.

"Yeah, well my dad wanted to meet _the man who stole my heart_," I said with a forced smile. I loved Edward more than anything and I'd never be ashamed of any part of him, but it was still nerve-racking to have him in that close proximity to my vampire loathing father. "Edward, this is Charlie; Dad, this is Edward," I introduced them.

"It's good to meet you, son," Charlie said to him with an out-stretched hand.

Edward took his hand and shook it. "The pleasure is all mine, sir," he said charmingly, and my heart actually skipped a beat from the breathtaking smile he shot me afterwards.

"So, you're a nomad, huh?" Charlie questioned as he and Edward took a seat on the building porch step. I naturally took my place on Edward's lap, earning us an odd look from my dad, but I really didn't care.

Edward nodded. "From all over."

"And what of your family?"

Edward pressed his lips and shook his head. "It's been a rough decade."

"It's definitely been that," Charlie agreed. "Well, I'm happy to give you a home here, especially with how taken my Bella seems to be with you."

"Um…thanks."

"Well, I'm sure it's been a long journey, you must all be hungry? Paul, go have Rachel bring our guests some food," Charlie instructed.

Paul took off, but he quickly returned empty handed. "I just spoke to Embry," he said in a rush. "He was patrolling to make sure no one had followed them in, and he came across a large automobile."

Charlie looked to me for an explanation.

"Yeah, we've been traveling by motorhome," I said sheepishly.

"You were able to find a functioning automobile?" Sam asked me surprised. "And what about the gas it needs to run?"

"I'm pretty good at fixing things," Edward told them. "And the gas…well, vampires keep a few stations; we just stole some."

"That sounds dangerous and completely reckless," Charlie grumbled, but tried to keep his voice casual.

"Well, I'd say leaving our scent trail behind for anyone to find would be more dangerous," Edward contradicted.

"You had wolves to cover your scents," Sam argued.

"And what makes you think vampires can't smell wolves?" Edward asked him brazenly. "Seriously, you people and your falsities when it comes to vampires are laughable. They can definitely smell wolves, and it would be easy for them to figure out that their scents are purposely used to cover human scents therefore they would then begin tracking the wolves."

"Vampires don't _figure_ anything," Charlie said, suddenly becoming less friendly. "They're vicious, mindless demons that are solely driven by instincts."

"Really?" Edward asked evenly. "Well, what's that say for the human race? How could an intelligent species be overtaken by something so mindless and uncontrollable?"

"Their intelligence is irreverent. Vampire's numbers grew like locust, there was no way we could keep up," Charlie told him.

"Well, I do agree with that. Vampires have become too overpopulated," Edward glanced at me and I knew he planned to stray from our plan. There would be no waiting until morning, he was going to start the conversation right then and there. _I only hoped he stopped at the place where he used to be a vampire._ "Which is why we've come up with a plan to take many of them out."

"A plan to take them out?" Sam asked doubtfully. "And how are you going to do that?"

"Poison the blood bank," Edward stated.

A beat of silence passed…and then laughter erupted.

"You can't poison vampires, they're immortal. Only fire can kill them completely," Paul said.

"Not anymore," Edward replied, unfazed by their initial reaction. "A man I know, who's somewhat of a scientist, is developing a poison which hopefully will be ready in the next couple weeks," he explained. "It will wipe out a great number."

"And how does this friend of yours know it actually works?"

"It's been tested," Edward said vaguely.

"Hold on, this guy actually caught a vamp somehow and force fed it this poison?" Charlie asked skeptically. "And it worked?"

"Technically the vampire was provided by Bella and Jake here, and I'm not sure there was any force feeding, but yes, it worked."

"Wait, we're talking about that vampire that was here in the village?" Sam asked. "I thought you said Jake killed it?" he asked Jared.

"Well, I brought it to its execution," Jake said quickly.

"Controlling a mindless soulless demon isn't an easy task," Edward said mockingly, though I doubt any of them knew he wasn't actually being serious.

"So this poison…How does it work?" Charlie pressed.

"I'm not a scientist, I have no idea how it actually works, I just know that it does," Edward told him.

"And how will we get it into the blood bank?" Charlie asked in full on business mode.

"I have a few ideas, but poisoning them is only one part of a bigger plan. There is no way to kill all the vampires, and I wouldn't want to anyway…it's the leaders that's the issue. If we rise up and replace the vampire leaders, we'll be able to work at getting the world the way it used to be."

"What do you mean, _you wouldn't want to kill all the vampires_?" Sam questioned him.

"Why would we want them all dead? Vampires have been here since the beginning of time. As long as they go back to being inconspicuous, then we should let them be."

"Who gives a shit if they're inconspicuous?" Paul fumed. "They'd still be out there killing people!"

"There's no way to take them all out anyway, so the argument is pointless," Edward told him evenly. "Vampires will always be here, but as long as we can get their numbers down and change out the leading coven, life can go on for humans the way it should."

"And how do you suggest we do this?" Charlie asked him.

"Well, we fight…." Edward went on to explain the battle plans and their would-be roles in it, which pretty much rendered everyone speechless.

After a few minutes of pondering, Charlie decided to voice his concerns. "So…you expect us to fight…along-side vampires?"

"It's the only way, and we _can_ trust them."

"How do you know we can trust them?" Sam asked irritated. "Vampires are mindless…"

"Okay, vampires are not anything like what you guys were led to believe," Edward snapped. "We can trust them; Bella and I spent a week living in a house with an entire coven and we were unharmed."

"You lived with vampires?" Charlie asked me through gritted teeth.

"Dad, Edward's right. Not all vampires are evil. They even resisted their nature and vowed to only feed on animal blood. They were kind and…"

"Vampires can't be trusted!" Charlie said sternly. "Maybe they're not mindless, but they definitely had an ulterior motive for not killing you. They probably were using you to get to our village. Bella, I know you are smarter than this."

"Bella is the smartest woman I know," Edward defended me. "It's all of you who are the idiots."

"Excuse me?" Charlie asked slowly. He was definitely not used to anyone disrespecting him in any way.

"Like I said before, you know nothing about vampires." He turned and looked at me. "I'm not sure they're any better than the people in Austin."

"Now, you listen here, son," Charlie said, having a hard time controlling his anger. "I know all there is to know about vampires, and I certainly know more than some stupid kid who thinks it's okay to live with them."

"Wait…am I the _stupid kid_ you're referring to?" Edward asked scornfully.

"Yeah, you're definitely that, and I'm really beginning to doubt my daughter's sanity for going along with someone like you."

I could see what was happening and it definitely wasn't a good thing, so I tried to defuse the situation. "Okay, you know what, let's just go," I told Edward. "I was stupid to think coming here was a good idea."

"No, you're my daughter and you're not going anywhere," Charlie said before grabbing my arm and yanking me off Edward's lap.

"Let go!" I shouted at him.

"Come on Charlie, it doesn't need to resort to this," Jake said anxiously, and as I looked around at the group, I could see why. The wolf-men had stood and looked to be prepared to help Charlie do whatever necessary to detain me, but the real concern was Edward…he was absolutely fuming and Jacob knew exactly what he was capable of.

"Dad, I'm not a child. Let me go!" I said strongly.

"The only place you're going is back to our house! I will not let you run away again. Paul, you can escort our guest back to his vehicle."

"I'm not going anywhere without Bella," Edward seethed.

"Throw him out and lock the gate," Charlie told Paul.

"Don't you fucking touch me," Edward growled at him.

"I wouldn't touch him, Paul," Jake warned.

Charlie began pulling me away just as I saw Paul sneer, and then grab Edward's arm forcefully.

Big mistake.

Everyone gasped when Paul's flailing form went flying through the air, before hitting a building hard and making it crack.

Charlie spun us around and then pushed me behind him protectively. "What the hell did you do to him?"

"Same thing I'll do to you if you don't let her go," Edward threatened.

Jared lunged for Edward, but he was easily able to take him down as well. "Why don't we just pretend we never came back here at all," Edward then said casually. "Come on Bella, let's go."

Charlie was in a state of shock so I was able to pull out of his grasp, but before I could walk around him to Edward, he grabbed me again.

"What are you?" Charlie asked him suspiciously. "Some kind of witch, or something?"

"No, I'm a vampire," he said with a smirk. "Well, at least I used to be…maybe still am slightly. And by the way, I'm over a hundred and fifty years old, so maybe you should stop calling me things like 'son' and 'kid'."

"You…you're the vampire that was here?" Charlie said slowly in disbelief.

"I knew I recognized him!" Paul shouted as he recovered himself.

I anxiously looked around at all the wolf-men shaking with fury, and I became absolutely terrified. Edward was strong, but he sure as hell wasn't strong enough to take on _all _of them. Seth must have had the same fear I did because he stepped to Edward's side protectively, and then Leah stepped to Seth's side…and Jake stepped to hers.

"Really Jake, you're taking the side of the leech?" Sam asked incredulously.

"I'm taking the side of what's right. Everyone just needs to stop and listen."

"I don't know how he was able to fool us into thinking he's human, but we do not stop and listen to vampires!" Sam shouted before exploding into his wolf.

"Dad, you have to stop this!" I pleaded. "He's not a vampire anymore; he wants to help us."

"All of us swore an oath to protect all humans!" Jacob shouted as more men morphed into their wolf counterparts. "He's a human…Look at him."

"That scientist- the one we were talking about earlier – he discovered a cure for vampirism," I added quickly.

The wolves smelled the air, obviously trying to detect any vamp scent, and when they didn't find any they looked to Charlie for instructions.

"Lock him up until further notice," he demanded.

"There is no way you're locking me up," Edward said darkly.

"We're outnumbered," I told him, still terrified that he would fight and be killed. "Just go with them…I'll explain everything and make them understand."

"Bella, we got this!" Seth tried convincing me. "Don't worry Edward, I'll protect you from these pups."

Edward stared at him for half a second, and must have decided the kid would just end up getting hurt while going up against the bigger wolves, because then sighed. "Fine, arrest me, or whatever," he said to Charlie. "I don't want to fight."

Charlie looked at Sam and gave him a nod.

The wolves circled Edward and began growling and snapping at him until he started following Sam to wherever he was leading him off to.

"Where are they taking him?" I asked Charlie with a mix of concern and hatred filled anger.

"Somewhere he can't escape…"


	31. Surge of Strength

Chapter 31 – Surge of Strength

"Dad, you have to let him go!" I said strongly. "This battle is happening whether you're going to help us or not, and we need to get there."

We were back at our house and I was desperately trying to convince him to listen to what I had to say; we just didn't have the time to waste on my father's ignorant prejudices.

"What makes you think I'd let you anywhere near a vampire battle?" he asked me sharply. "I failed you. I was too lenient when you were growing up and your life went spiraling out of control as a result."

"Hold on," I said with a humorless laugh. "You think this is some teenage rebellion thing?"

"That's exactly what this is!" he shouted. "You're a teen…and you're rebelling. You were so pissed at me for trying to set you up with Jacob that you went out and found the very last…_thing_ I'd ever want you to date."

"My relationship with Edward has nothing to do with you or Jacob!" I spat.

"Really? You just happened to go out there into the world and developed a real crush on a vampire?" he asked derisively.

"Dad…I _love_ him."

"Obviously, you don't know what love is," he said bitterly.

"No, you're the one who's still so distraught over losing your wife that you've forgotten what love is. Love is putting the other one first, doing whatever possible to be with that person, even if it meant giving up everything else that ever meant anything. Love is happiness, passion, and trust, but it's also about forgiveness, and the most intense level of pain you could ever experience just from being away from them. It's shared emotion - both good and bad to the most severe degree, and knowing without a doubt that you found your true place in the world. I know what love is…and that's what Edward and I have together."

Charlie was obviously taken back by my conviction, but then he clinched his jaw and reset his features in a hard impassive mask. "Vampires are incapable of love."

I huffed violently. "You know, I actually believed the things you taught me. I believed them so much that I ignored the truth staring me straight in the face, and I almost lost the chance to experience anything real. Thankfully I found all the proof I could never need."

"Proof of what?"

"Proof that you're full of shit!" I said shamelessly. "Vampires can be cruel and vicious, but they can also be compassionate and stronger emotionally than any human I had ever met before."

"Just because this one vampire convinced you…"

"It wasn't just him. The entire coven we stayed with…but more importantly, Emmett."

"Emmett? What about Emmett?" he asked with obvious strain in his voice.

"I set out to find him…Jake went with me for protection, but I practically spent half the time without him… Edward was the one who kept me safe…and he kept his word and brought me back to Em."

"He's alive? Where is he? Why didn't he come back with you?" Charlie asked in a rush.

"He's a vampire…and yes, he's alive," I said strongly.

"He's a…vam…vampire?" His eyes suddenly glazed over as the gravity of the situation hit him. He stared blankly in the distance for a few torturously long moments, and then he blinked away the haze and let his hatred take back over once again. "I accepted Emmett's death months ago, and with time you will too."

"He's not dead!" I exploded. "I talked to him, I traveled with him, I spent time alone with him; hell, I've even hugged him. Emmett's still Emmett…he just has a harder exterior. He was taken to the vampire leaders against his will, and this revolution will save him."

"Whatever happens in the vampire world has nothing to do with us."

"It has _everything_ to do with us! How can you not see that? The leaders need to be removed from power, and only then will we be able to get the world back to the way it should be. Dad…if you don't agree with this movement, then fine…but let us go. Please…just let us go."

Charlie looked at me like he was torn, but then he shook his head again. "I will not let that thing go."

"Edward is not a thing! He's a human being, and you have no right to keep him locked up."

"_If_ he is really cured, then I would treat him as any other human here…and that means locking him up."

"For what?" I shouted frustrated.

"For murder."

"Murder?"

"How many human lives do you think your Edward has taken?" he asked unexpectedly.

"No, he…That's…" I let my sentence trail off because Edward _had_ killed people, and saying otherwise would have been a blatant lie. He even killed a man right in front of me, and as much as I wanted to defend his actions and say that was the old him, the truth was that he would probably still kill someone without even batting an eye if the situation were to call for it. A century and a half of death and carnage had made him numb to certain empathies, and I had no idea if that would ever change. "You can trust him," I said finally, deciding that was the truest statement I could come up with at the moment.

"No, I can't," he replied evenly.

"Then at least trust me," I pleaded.

He huffed. "I wish I could…but you've proven to be untrustworthy. If you weren't my daughter, I'd have you banished or locked up with the vamp-man."

I shook my head slowly in disbelief. "You could be standing in the way of saving our world… Can you live with that?"

"I'm sorry, I just don't believe that," he replied emotionlessly before walking out of the house.

I was so mad…but I didn't have the luxury of just sitting there stewing about it; I needed to find Edward and get him out.

I opened the front door of the house, and was beyond pissed to see Paul-wolf standing there like a guard dog, and when he saw me he barred his fangs as a clear sign that I wasn't allowed to leave. But what my father failed to realize was that I was a pro at sneaking out. I had done it my entire life, and there was no way in hell I was going to allow him to keep me prisoner there.

So I went to my old bedroom and moved my bookshelf, revealing my still accessible escape hole. I looked around silently to make sure there weren't any wolves around, and crawled through the familiar passage to the tight space between homes. Just like I had done so many times in the past, I climbed up the drain pipe to the top of the neighboring home, and was able to have a bird's eye view of that side of the village. There were two wolves patrolling the street in front of the house, and both were none the wiser to my current location.

The houses were built close together, so I was easily able to hop from roof to roof until I was a safe distance away from the wolves, and then I carefully jumped down and began my search for Edward. I first looked in the small village jail that was rarely ever used, but that would have been too easy, so I took a chance and went to the place where Jake and I always used to meet when we were kids. Obviously I didn't expect Edward to be there, but my hope was that my friends were there, and they had some kind of clue as to where he was being held.

Luckily, it was a good guess.

"Thank god you're here," I said as I walked up to the three of them who seemed to be already deep in planning mode.

"Bella, you made it out!" Seth said excitedly. "We were just trying to figure out how to save you."

I smiled at him…_he really was my favorite wolf of all time._ "Thanks, but I definitely know how to handle myself here. Any ideas where they're holding Edward?"

"Well, the council has reconvened at the headquarters and there are a lot of wolves hanging around front, so I'd say he has to be around there somewhere," Jake suggested.

"Good idea, I'll go look there," I said before turning to go.

"Bella, we need to come up with a plan first," Leah insisted.

She was probably right.

"So what's the plan?" I asked impatiently. We all just stood there like morons and tried to think of something, but my desperation became too much and I decided on the simplest course of action. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. You guys create a distraction, and I'm going to sneak in and find him. Got it? Great, let's go."

"Hold on," Leah stopped me…_again_. "What kind of distraction should we create, and what are you going to do once you get inside? I mean, surely he's locked up somehow, you need to figure out a way to get the keys or whatever."

"Well, I won't know how to bust him out until I get there and evaluate exactly how he's being restrained, and as for your distraction, that's for you guys to figure out. Now let's do it," I said, and then hurried on my way before one of them could throw out any more concerns.

I quickly made my way to the headquarters, and then hid until my wolf allies began their ruckus. About five minutes later, the three of them showed up and immediately began bickering.

"What do you mean you want to see other wolves?" Jake asked irately.

"Jake, I care about you, really I do, but I also thought you were the only other wolf in existence besides my brother. With so many options here, I just want a chance to make sure," Leah replied reluctantly.

"No, I imprinted!" Jake shouted at her.

"Yeah, _you_ imprinted," she replied harshly, "but I still have a choice."

Jacob started theatrically shaking with anger, but then Seth stepped in. "Back down, Jake… We don't need this to turn into a fight."

"It already has," Jake seethed.

I glanced at the wolves guarding the building, and I was relieved to see them obviously taking an interest in the faux argument going on; in fact, they seemed down right engrossed. _Stupid fucking dogs._

I was able to easily slip past them when they stepped closer to the Jake/Leah confrontation, but I had a bad feeling that wasn't the last obstacle I was going to face…

I walked lightly down the corridor, and tiptoed past the apparent meeting going on inside the conference room, and then I continued towards the back of the building – opening doors and looking in every room as I went. At the end of the hall, there was a final door…one that led down to the only basement in the entire village, and it was locked. I actually used to play down there as a child and the door had never been locked before, which told me that there was something down there that they didn't want anyone to see…or they didn't want someone to escape from.

I pulled out the clip from my hair that I got from the house, and started working on the lock, which was strangely simple to open. Surely if Edward was down there he could have easily broken out; though perhaps they were counting on the threat of the guard wolves outside to keep him at bay.

I hurried down the steps and was met by another locked door, but I was horrified to feel that this one was hot. What the hell? I burned my fingers as I worked on that lock, but I didn't care, I was absolutely panicked. It was hot…_Why was it so hot?_

When the lock got too hot to touch a moment longer, I growled and then settled for kicking the door in, which was certainly loud enough for people to hear, but I just didn't care at that point. Once the door finally broke open, I was met with a wall of immense heat that was almost suffocating to stand so close to. But when the smoke cleared, I was able to see inside the room…and I was absolutely horrified.

"Edward!" I shouted when I saw him lying on the ground. Inside the basement was what looked like a six feet high by ten feet wide cage…a cage with bars that was set in a controlled blaze.

At first he didn't move, he didn't even flinch by the sound of me calling his name, he just laid there with his eyes closed, and my stomach dropped when I realized he could be dead. But of course, stomach dropping was as bad of a reaction as I was going to give, because Edward wasn't dead. He couldn't be.

"Edward," I said again as I tried to reach through the flames to touch him, but it was just too hot and the bars were too close together. "Edward, wake up!" I shouted, hoping he could hear me and show some kind of sign he was alive.

He moaned quietly, and then lifted his head to look at me. "Bella?"

"Thank god," I whispered to myself. "I'm going to try to figure out a way to turn off the fire," I told him as I began looking around the room. There had to be a source to the fire in order to keep it controlled, but unlike the previous fire dome, it wasn't clear. I looked around the perimeter of the cage, as well as the entire room. High and low, in every corner and on every wall, but I couldn't figure it out. There was nothing to feed the flames; no gas line or anything else I could easily see, but I refused to give up- they weren't magic, there had to be an answer.

After two minutes of looking, I was already panting from heat exhaustion so I could only imagine how horrible Edward felt after being locked in there for so long. As a vampire, fire was a concern but heat did nothing, but as a human Edward was literally baking alive and every minute counted, so I needed to hurry.

"Where the hell is it!" I shouted frustrated by my cluelessness.

"Bella, it's concealed," Edward croaked while trying to sit up.

"Did you see them turn on the flames?"

But he didn't answer me, because suddenly we weren't alone anymore.

"Don't even mess with me, Paul!" I said irritated when he walked into the room in human form.

"You disappeared from the house, so I figured I'd find you here," Paul said slowly, and there was a strange indescribable look in his eye that I had never seen before, but I chose to ignore it. I didn't have a doubt that he was about to retreat and go tattle on me being there, so I estimated that I only had two more minutes at the most to find the off switch…but Paul didn't leave, he just stood there and stared at me blankly_. Was having an attack on conscience? _I assumed that he must have taken Jake's words to heart; Edward was a human, and wolves were supposed to protect humans. I was relieved - Paul and I were never really friends, but I'd be more than willing to have him as an ally.

But my assumption couldn't have been more wrong….

"Bella…You need to get out of here," Edward said suddenly with an unexpected level of concern in his voice.

"No, I need to get you out before others come," I said distractedly, refusing to give up my search.

"Bella, leave now!" Edward insisted while forcing himself into a standing position.

"No," I repeated, but then I turned to look towards the exit to make sure no one else was there, and without warning, my body slammed into the ground violently.

"Bella!" Edward shouted. "I'm going to kill you, you fucking piece of shit," he threatened viciously, but Paul just smirked at him.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked Paul as I wiped the moisture from my nose and realized I was bleeding. He stepped over me and looked down with the most evil glare I had ever seen from anyone, and I knew things were about to get ugly.

"You disgust me," Paul said darkly as he continued to tower over me. "Everyone here thinks you should be executed for consorting with the enemy, but Charlie refuses to allow it. He's blinded by paternal love, and he's too weak to do what needs to be done…but I'm not."

There was a loud bang that made me jump, but when I realized what it was my fear only doubled. "Edward, stop!" I shouted at him as he rammed his shoulder into the flamed wall for a second time to try to break through. His shirt caught fire, so he quickly removed it and proceeded to ram into the fire yet again.

Paul looked at Edward's escape attempt with amusement, and I used his distraction to kick him hard in the testicles.

"You fucking bitch!" he shouted at me, before quickly recovering himself and grabbing a hold of me as I attempted to run for the exit. He pulled me by my hair and shoved me against the basement wall, where he moved his hands to my neck and began squeezing.

"I'm going to kill you while your disgusting leech boyfriend watches helplessly; not that he actually cares since bloodsuckers like him are emotionless…But still, obviously he wants you alive for some reason, so watching you die after the countless innocents he killed is only just."

His slow constriction on my airway was beyond painful, and the fact that he could have easily killed me quickly just proved what a sadistic freak he really was. He wanted me to suffer, and the most agonizing part was definitely watching Edward's desperate attempts to help me.

My vision started to blur as the lack of oxygen to my brain was beginning to have its affect, but I refused to succumb to it – not when Edward was continuing to burn himself over and over as he tried to get out. I could accept my own death, giving in would be easy, but I refused to allow Edward to suffer for a moment longer.

And somehow, everything abruptly shifted…

I was vaguely able to detect a third presence enter the room, but I kept my eyes locked on Edward…and then I exploded. Suddenly I felt a foreign sensation surge through me that almost felt powerful in a way, and then I moved without choosing to do so. The next thing I knew, Paul was in a crumbled mess in the corner of the room, and Charlie was staring at me from the doorway in utter shock.

I glanced back at the severely burned half naked Edward, and thankfully he had calmed a fraction amount, but like my father, he too was staring at me with bewilderment.

_What the hell just happened?_


	32. Gifts

Chapter 32 – Gifts

"He…he…was trying to kill me," I said to Charlie shakily. I was so confused as to what just transpired that I started second guessing it all. Did Charlie pull Paul off of me, or did I push him off myself? Surely neither of us was even strong enough to overtake a wolf-man at all…._right?_

"It's okay…shhh," Charlie said as he reached to comfort me, but I took a step back and wouldn't let him make contact.

Charlie stared at me for a moment, and then turned his head slightly. "Someone, get in here now!" he shouted, making me jump.

Sam, Jared, and Brady all rushed in, and were surprised to see Paul unconscious in the corner.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"I walked in here and saw him attacking Bella," Charlie fumed. "Get that piece of shit out of here and locked up somewhere before I kill him."

"I don't understand, how did he end up like that?" Sam questioned.

"I didn't ask you to understand it!" Charlie snapped at him. "Do as I say and take him away."

Sam looked at him pensively for a moment, and then nodded once. "Yes sir." He and Brady grabbed Paul and dragged him out and up the stairs, but all I cared about at that moment was getting to Edward.

"Edward, are you okay?" I asked in a panic. I had seen someone die for lesser burns than what he just endured, but he didn't seem to be in pain; though, with Edward there wasn't anything stronger than his love for me and his disdain for mostly everyone else, so it was possible his concern for my safety overrode any physical discomfort.

"I'm fine," Edward tried assuring me. "As long as you're okay….Your neck?"

"I'm okay," I told him with a shaky nod. And I was okay, in fact, I oddly felt stronger than I ever had before.

He huffed. "That fucking son of a bitch. I swear Bella, I will get out of here and snap his fucking neck before he even knows what hit him."

But as strong as he was trying to be, his supposed adrenaline rush must have been wearing off because it was obvious he was fighting an onslaught of pain and weakness. His voice was rough, his legs were trembling, his breathing was labored, and his eyes betrayed him to reveal his suppressed physical agony.

Once again, I tried to reach through the lit bars of his cage, but it was still impossible - which only pissed me off. "Damn it! Turn off this fucking fire!" I shouted at Charlie.

I didn't watch Charlie as he moved so I didn't see his secret hiding spot to extinguish the flames, but it didn't really matter anyway because there was no way in hell I'd let him turn it back on.

With the fire out, the bars were still red from the residual heat, but that certainly wasn't going to stop me from reaching through to him, nor would it stop him from reaching out to me. We each cradled the other's face in our hands and were just grateful to be okay. But after a moment of caressing his cheeks and hair, I had enough...

"This is ridiculous, he needs medical attention. Now let him out!" I demanded.

I expected Charlie to put up a bigger fight, but he simply nodded absently and went for the key. Once the door was open I pushed past my father and wrapped Edward in my arms…but he was just too hot. I had never felt a human so hot before; he was even hotter than Jake-wolf in the desert, which was too much for a human.

"We need to cool him down!" I said in a panic as Edward stumbled in my arms.

"No, I'm okay…" he said before falling over and crashing on to the ground.

"Edward!"

"Let's get him outside," Charlie suggested quickly while finally returning to his morals and realizing that Edward deserved a little humane treatment like anyone else.

Charlie tried to lift Edward up, but he was deadweight and couldn't even get him to budge. "He's heavier than the wolves," Charlie grumbled. "Someone, help me," he asked the wolf-men watching from the doorway who I didn't even notice before - but none of them moved.

"He's a vampire, Charlie," one of them said apologetically.

"Obviously not anymore!" Charlie shouted at him, but they still refused to help.

So I bent over and stroked Edward's hair, and leaned in to whisper to him. "Edward…baby…you have to wake up, okay? I know it's hard, but you have to hold on just a little longer. We're going to get you help; you're going to be okay," I told him, but when he still didn't respond I got desperate, and without overthinking it, I grabbed his arm and pulled it over my shoulder. "Dad, help me!"

"He's too heavy. I'm going to go find someone who will help."

"That will take too long, just help me!" I insisted.

Charlie shook his head but then grabbed Edward's other arm, and together we were able to lift him off the ground and carry him out of the basement; we even somehow managed the stairs. The wolves moved out of our way but did nothing else to help. Thankfully, a small crowd had gathered outside, and amongst them was the village doctor.

"Please, Doctor Webber, he needs help," I begged as Charlie and I laid Edward gently down on the wooden planks of the council building porch.

"Is…is that the vampire-human?" Doc asked anxiously.

_How the hell did he know that?- _I had almost forgotten how quickly word could get around in such a small community.

"He's a person who needs medical care. Please," I begged him.

The doc looked to Charlie and when he nodded, Doc rushed over to examine him. "He has suffered major burns over his entire torso," he explained the obvious. "Pulse is weak, he's dehydrated and going into shock. He needs some water now!"

I rushed to the nearest well and grabbed a pitcher someone had left there, before hurrying it back to Edward. I slowly poured it into his mouth, and thankfully, after choking on it a little, he was able to swallow some and that was all it took to make him alert again.

"Don't get up," I told him gently after he had opened his eyes and saw all the people around him. "Everything is okay," I cooed while holding his hand.

"His burns are extensive. This will take a while to heal," the doc said to Charlie.

"No…I'm fine," Edward said groggily, and once again tried to get up. I knew he hated feeling defenseless, especially with so many strangers around him, but we needed to think of his health first.

"You're not fine. What were you thinking ramming into the flamed bars like that?"

"I needed to get to you," he told me slowly. "There was no way I was going to just sit there and watch that fucker try to kill you."

"He won't ever get near Bella again," Charlie seethed, and then he looked at me and his tone softened. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

What was I supposed to say to that? It wasn't okay and I didn't forgive him, so instead of responding at all I just refocused all my attention back on Edward - who was still trying to get up.

"Edward, what happened?" Seth asked as he ran up to us; Jake and Leah approached at a much less frantic pace.

"He got burned in the fire cage they had him locked in," I said bitterly. "As Paul tried to choke me to death in front of him."

"What?" Jake responded angrily. "I'm going to kill that prick."

"Get in line, pup," Edward said as he finally got to a standing position despite my protests. "Now where is he?"

"Edward you can't go, you're hurt…or at least you _were_ hurt." I said when I noticed that his burn marks suddenly almost looked days old.

"My god, he's better," the doc said astonished.

"See, lingering vamp-ness isn't all that bad," Edward said, instantly back to sounding like his normal cocky self.

"Righteous!" Seth shouted excitedly with a high five to Edward.

"So you're a quick healer and incredibly strong…what other vampire traits do you still have?" Charlie asked him cautiously.

"Don't know yet…still figuring it all out," Edward replied bitterly while watching my father with mistrust.

"And what about Bella? Does she…how…she threw Paul across the room," Charlie questioned him. "I walked in right before it happened and saw the entire thing…How did she do that? Has she…have you…bitten her or something? I just don't understand."

"When has he _not _bitten her?" Jake said under his breath, but no one else seemed to notice.

Edward reached out for my hand, which I gladly gave. "I don't know how she did it," he said while watching me with wonderment. "But it was incredible."

Everyone else turned to look at me as well, and each seemed to be waiting for an explanation like I should know, but my father's accusing worried glares were the loudest. "I'm not part vampire, dad,"- _at least I didn't think I was. _"I don't know how I did it either…I just felt strong…It was probably an adrenaline rush."

"Wait, you actually threw Paul?" Jake asked incredulously. "Like, with super strength?"

"It was amazing," Edward gushed again.

"Was it her shield-gift-thingy that you said she has?" Seth asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, but I doubt it. That's a mental defensive power, what she did was different," Edward mused.

"Maybe it's an STD," Leah suggested casually.

"Huh?" I asked confused.

Charlie grumbled something unintelligibly under his breath, but I chose to ignore it.

"Well, to say Edward was 'cured' would imply that he had a disease…and if vampirism is a disease, then wouldn't it be possible that he spread it to Bella through sex?" Leah asked full of attitude. "God knows they've had a ton of it…and that's just in the short time I've known them."

"It's not AIDS!" Charlie said frustrated, though I wasn't sure what they were even talking about. What the hell was_ aids _anyway?

"It could act in the same way," Leah pressed, unfazed by Charlie's irritation with the topic. "I mean, it spreads through the blood, why not through sex as well?"

"We'll have to ask Carlisle what he thinks when we meet back with him," Edward said with a nod, and then he turned back to me. "We really need to get back on the road."

"Are you sure you're feeling up to traveling so soon?" I asked concerned as I looked back over his burns which now appeared weeks old.

"I feel great…especially after seeing the way you handled that rabid dog back there," he assured me. "And we don't have time to stay any longer. We still have a long trip ahead of us."

"Since we're going back alone, are we taking the motorhome?" Seth asked as we immediately began walking back towards the exit of the village.

"Now, hold on there!" Charlie shouted and chased after us. "I am not just going to let you leave again."

I paused and turned back to him. "You don't have a choice."

"Bella, this battle…it's suicide."

I almost wanted to laugh from his comment. Everything I had done since leaving the village had been labeled 'suicide'. Letting the vicious vampire out of the fire dome – suicide; going on an insane mission to save my brother – suicide; infiltrating the mating colony – suicide; having sex with a vampire – suicide; living with vampires – suicide. I could go on and on about all the things I had done which were called 'suicide' by someone…but I was still alive.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of," I told him intensely, and then I turned back towards the exit and refused to look back again.

"So if we couldn't get any help here, what makes you think the people from Austin will help?" Seth asked as we made our way back to the motorhome.

"The people in Austin will do whatever their controlling coven tells them to, and the coven is going to love the idea," Edward told him.

"But how do you know?" Seth pressed.

"Because I know the coven and it's leader. He's a power hungry son of a bitch that would never pass on a chance to take down the Romanians….especially with the gifts I'm going to bring him."

"What gifts?" I asked frustrated. It had become 'need to know' at that point because I needed to know and I was getting irritated by being left in the dark.

Edward sighed. "You're not going to like it."

"Why?" I whined, figuring it had something to do with taking innocent lives.

"You'll see soon enough," he replied evenly.

…

Before heading to Austin we had to make a detour to the mountains of Southern California to pick up the gifts, but when we arrived in the obscure location, I became overwhelmingly confused.

"Stay here," Edward instructed us, and then proceeded to go into a tiny cabin alone. After being inside for more than an hour, my nerves became too much.

"He said to stay here!" Jake yelled at me when I went for the motorhome door.

"I can't. What if something went wrong? We don't even know what's even in there."

"I smell vampires…or at least one anyway," Jake said.

"I smell it too….but there's also humans…and…livestock?" Leah mused.

Sure enough we looked behind the cabin and noticed what looked like a fenced in area that contained animals of some sort. "What is this place?"

"Hey look, chicken!" Seth said excitedly when a small flock of birds appeared in front of cabin. "I don't think anyone would notice if a few went missing…and I'm really hungry." He got up and went for the door, but Leah stopped him.

"Edward said to stay here," she said as she grabbed a hold of his shirt and yanked him backwards causing it to rip.

"Man, I really liked this shirt," he grumbled as he pulled the pieces off his shoulders.

"If Edward doesn't come back in five I'm going in after him," Jake decided.

Thankfully, Edward finally emerged…but he wasn't alone. Three figures shrouded under heavy dark cloaks followed him out of the cabin, two of which continued up the steps of the motorhome and walked in right past us to the back. Edward locked them in the back room, and then shot us a warning. "Don't open the door. Don't try to talk to them. Understand?"

"Edward, who are they?" I asked baffled.

"I already told you – gifts," he stated before rushing back to the last remaining figure outside and holding his hand out to him. When the cloaked being reached out to shake Edward's hand, I gasped to see his skin there immediately begin throwing beams of light.

"That's definitely a vampire," Seth mumbled.

"But Edward's human…it's going to kill him," I said in a panic.

"I don't think they'd be shaking hands if he was going to kill him," Jake said absently as we all continued to watch Edward's interaction with the vampire.

"Wait, are those two vampires also?" I asked, referring to the two people currently locked in the back room.

"They didn't smell like vampires….which makes this entire thing even more confusing," Leah said slowly.

After Edward appeared to say goodbye to the mysterious vampire, he came back into the motorhome and simply shut the door before sitting in the driver's seat and starting the engine. We all just stared at him questionably.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"What the hell is going on?" Jake shouted after a moment.

"I already explained all of this," Edward said frustrated. "They're gifts that will practically ensure our victory."

"They're the gifts?" I asked surprised. "Those…_people_? They are people, right?"

"Yes, they are human, and yes, they're the gifts. Look, I told you that you're not going to like it, so why don't you all do yourselves a favor and not worry about it. I have everything under control," he said doubtlessly, and then he put the motorhome in gear and we were off towards Austin again.


	33. Conspiring

Chapter 33 – Conspiring

But I was worried about the so called human _gifts_ in the back of the motorhome, and I couldn't just forget about it as Edward suggested. So that night, when Edward and I were supposed to be taking our turns sleeping on the couch while the wolves patrolled, I carefully rolled out from under Edward's limp arm, and then snuck to the back of the motorhome.

"What are you doing?" Jake hissed, making me jump.

"What am I doing? What the hell are _you_ doing sneaking around inside here while Edward and I are supposed to be sleeping?" I whispered back heatedly. "We could have been doing..._things_."

"I knew you weren't having sex, the motorhome walls aren't that thick."

"Oh… So you know when we are?" I asked horrified.

"Unfortunately. We usually pick that time to patrol a _wider_ perimeter, if you know what I mean."

I could feel my face flush, but then I decided I simply didn't care. "Speaking of patrolling, isn't that what you should be doing right now?"

"Seth and Leah are covering it…I need to know what's going on here," he explained slowly.

"Well, that makes two of us."

He shot me a snooty expression. "Are we having a little bit of trust issues with your cured vamp lover?"

"Oh, shut up," I snapped quietly. "I trust Edward, but I'm just sick of being left in the dark."

"He's going to be pissed if we open this door…and if super hearing is among his remaining vamp traits then we'll certainly get caught."

"If you're so worried about it then why are you sneaking around in here?" I asked irritated.

"I can handle his superhuman wrath," he said smugly. "You, on the other hand..."

I grabbed his hand and squeezed his fist until I felt his knuckles crack under my force. His face distorted in pain but surprisingly he didn't allow himself to vocalize it.

"I think I can handle myself against an angry vamp-man and a wolf-man…not that either of you would be stupid enough to try to hurt me," I said with an arrogant giggle before finally letting him go.

"Whatever," Jake replied bitterly as he tried to shake away his pain.

Edward made a snorting noise so Jake and I both held our breaths and looked back at him, but then he just rolled over and went back to sleep. _Thank god_. I felt horrible about going behind Edward's back in that way, but I just couldn't take it anymore, especially since he admitted the gifts were of the human variety.

"You know this is a little ironic," Jake murmured.

"Why?" I asked annoyed knowing it was going to be some sort of snide comment.

"Wasn't Edward the one who always teased _me_ for being a heavy sleeper?"

I rolled my eyes. "Considering the fact that he's catching up on a century and a half of sleepless years, I'd say he's doing pretty well for himself," I said defensively. "Besides, he's still healing from his burns, and that can take a lot out of a person."

"Oh, you mean the burns that are nothing more than scars which are barely visible anymore?"

I briefly wondered if I could break Jake's arm…the thought was definitely enticing; if I wasn't worried about waking Edward up, I probably would have tested out my newfound strength to actually do it. "Just shut up, okay," I told him, and then I refocused on the task at hand. Very slowly I unlocked the door, and then turned the handle and cringed when it squeaked.

Jake watched Edward as I continued to try to open the door as silently as possible, but it was definitely nerve-racking. I wasn't physically scared of Edward the way Jake obviously was, but I certainly didn't want to upset him either so getting caught was definitely undesirable.

When I finally got the door cracked open, Jake and I both peeked in and were completely flabbergasted at what we saw – two child-like faces looking back at us curiously. Even through the darkness, I could see their bright blue eyes and doll-like angelic features, and suddenly my heart was in my throat as I thought about whatever horrifying fate Edward had planned for them.

"They're…kids," Jake stated. "Why the hell would he be bringing them to the Austin coven as gifts?"

"Shh!" I chided him as I tentatively tip-toed into the room and then knelt down besides the children so that I wouldn't scare them. Jake followed slowly behind me and then shut the door so that we wouldn't risk waking Edward even more than we already had. "Hello," I said softly. "Don't be afraid. My name is Bella."

Jake bent down into an unthreatening position as well. "And I'm Jacob."

"Who are you?" I asked them gently.

"We're not supposed to tell anyone," the boy said strangely.

"You're not going to get into trouble and I'll make sure no one hurts you…I promise," I tried assuring him.

He sighed. "My name is Danny, and this is my sister - " but he abruptly stopped speaking and fear devoured his features as he looked at something behind me

I glanced over my shoulder and huffed when I saw Edward standing there looking livid with his arms crossed in front of him. I didn't even hear him open the door, but he was pissed, which strangely only made me even more pissed.

I stood quickly and grabbed his arm before dragging him out of the room, leaving Jake alone with the kids to hopefully reassure them a little more. There was no way Jake or I would allow them to be hurt in any way, and if I had to stand in front of my lover to protect them, I would.

"What the hell are you doing with those children?" I growled angrily but low enough that the kids couldn't hear and get even more frightened then they were already.

"I told you to stay away from them," Edward fumed through gritted teeth. "You don't know what you're messing with, Bella."

"Then tell me?"

"No."

"Why?" I practically shouted exasperatedly.

"Because it's just going to upset you."

"I'm already upset!"

"It'll upset you _more_."

"Then let it. Tell me what's going on."

He stared at me for a moment, and then shook his head no. "This doesn't concern you or the mutts."

"Like hell it doesn't! I'm a part of this mission. I'm here with you. I've vowed to do whatever I can in this upcoming battle…But I will not stand by and let you…do whatever the hell you're going to do with those kids."

"Okay, first of all, they're not kids. They're fourteen."

I nodded. "Fourteen qualifies them as children," I told him strongly, though I had to admit, that was older than I figured they were; they looked more like ten.

"They're almost as old as Seth," he argued. "And no matter how much we call him a kid, Seth is no kid. He's seen more of the world than most people in your village, and he's definitely killed more vamps than Mr. Alpha Mutt."

"You're right, experience is more of a maturity determining factor than actual age, which would seem to make these two even more like kids than the kids back home. They're absolutely terrified. Have they ever even been away from that cabin before; and why were they being kept there by that vampire anyway?"

"They've spent their entire lives in at that cabin…and that vampire has raised them and kept them there for this very reason…well, not this exact reason, but he doesn't need to know that."

"Huh?" I asked confused.

"When the vampire take-over happened, Carlisle and Eleazar sought out latent gifts in humans before they could all be slaughtered. When the massacre bled into Los Angeles, they happened to be there and found a woman who had an incredible power even as a human. She refused to be turned and killed herself before they could take her to the leaders, but they soon discovered she had two small children…both of which also possessed unparalleled gifts. Of course, at that time they were far too young and ideally they should still be older now, but we simply don't have the time to wait any longer. Their vampire guardian has been keeping them for a time when the leaders feel they're old enough, but lucky for us I got to them first and because of my association with Carlisle, the vampire believed me when I said I was sent there to retrieve them."

"And how did you explain your new humanity?"

He shrugged. "He knows Carlisle and his experiments. I just told him that I would be changed back as soon as I returned. He would have no reason to not believe me."

I took a deep breath. "So let me get this straight. The leaders have been keeping those kids hidden in that cabin to mature and one day be turned because of their latent powers…and you have decided to steal them instead, and bring them to the Austin leaders as a bribe to fight with us?"

Edward nodded. "Pretty much, yeah. And Bella, I'm telling you, once these two are turned…their gifts are going to make all the difference. We may not even have to fight at all. Can you imagine it? A complete take over without a single life lost…well, none of _our_ lives lost, anyway; obviously the Romanian leaders and their guard will need to be killed."

"And then what? If these two have some ultimate power, then what's to stop them from using it against _us_?"

"They have been raised and conditioned to do exactly what they're told….There is no way they'd ever disobey a command from their master."

"Oh really? Well they were commanded not to tell us their names, but the boy said his name is Danny so I guess they're not as controlled as you think they are."

Edward laughed. "His name isn't Danny. He lied to you. He would never tell you his name because I instructed him not to. Their guardian told them that I'm their master for the trip until I take them to their permanent master, therefore they will continue to do as I tell them until we reach Austin. Once I introduce them to the leaders there, they will be loyal to only them from then on."

"Okay…well what happens when the Austin leaders turn out to be worse than the Romanians?"

"They won't be."

"How do you know?" I asked worriedly.

"Because I will convince them not to. Trust me, they just need a vision and they will see it through."

"Edward…you can't do this," I said slowly, and he immediately threw up his arms and turned away from me, but I wasn't finished yet. "We're trying to save the human race and here you are about to have two children turned into vampires. This isn't right," I said to him despite his back being turned. "They're scared, and they don't understand. This is just…cruel."

"And what did you think was going to happen?" he exploded. "That this entire thing would be sunshine and rainbows? This is war, Bella, and in war we have to make sacrifices."

"We do not have to sacrifice innocent children!"

"They are not children! They have been conditioned. The have been raised for this very reason. They know exactly what's going to happen to them and they've been taught to not fear it."

"But they obviously do. They're terrified."

He shook his head. "You have no idea what the hell you're talking about. They're shy…wary of strangers because that is what they've been taught. Only when they are with their permanent masters will they fully come alive."

"Would you just listen to yourself?" I said exasperated. "Taught. Conditioned. Masters. ….These are human beings, not mindless slaves."

"They are whatever we need them to be," he said evenly.

"You know, I really thought having your humanity restored would make you a little more…altruistic."

"Sorry to disappoint you," he said coldly. "But I tried to tell you – becoming a vampire only changes a person's exterior."

…

For the next few days, things were _strained_ between us, to say the least. Edward demanded that we leave the kids alone, and then he proceeded to lock them in the back room and refused to let us near them. He slept against the door with the key in his pants pocket, and only opened it every few hours or so to feed them or take them to the restroom, but each time the kids kept their heads down and never even attempted to look up at us.

"This is ridiculous, we have to do something," Jake said one evening. We were roasting our dinner over a small fire, but Edward refused to leave his position in front of the room to come outside and sit with us.

"Yeah…we can't let this continue," Seth said reluctantly, shocking the rest of us by taking Jake's side over Edward's.

"Well, let's stop it then," Leah said frustrated. "I mean come on, Edward is inhumanly strong, but there's no way three wolves can't overtake him.

"Three wolves and one super strong chick," I corrected her evenly. They all looked at me shocked that I'd be willing to fight Edward, but like Seth, I truly felt he had crossed the line that time, and I couldn't stand by and allow it to go on. "As long as we don't really hurt him, or anything," I added quickly.

"So how are we going to do this then?" Leah asked. "We can't tie him up; he's too strong, he'll just get out of it."

"Yeah, and where are we going to take the kids?" Seth asked. "They can't go back to that cabin; if the Romanians get to them we'll never fix the world."

"Maybe we should take them back to Washington," Jake suggested. "They're human…They belong with other humans. I'm sure someone there will take them in."

"Those humans aren't any better than the vampires," Seth snapped. "They attacked us…tried to kill Bella. We can't trust them."

"Besides, that would be the first place Edward would look for them," Leah added. "Bella doesn't want Edward seriously hurt, so no matter where we take the kids it'll only be a matter of time until he finds them."

"Then we'll keep running," Jake said absently.

"We can't run forever," I told him. "We need to just…convince Edward that this is wrong."

"And how are we going to do that?" Leah asked bitterly. "You said you already tried talking to him about it. If he won't listen to you, he's not going to listen to anyone."

"Well, I certainly don't think conspiring against me is very good idea," Edward said casually as he suddenly emerged from the motorhome. But even more shocking then seeing him away from the locked door, was seeing the two kids following him out. The three of them simply walked over to our fire, and sat down next to us as if it was a normal occurrence. "They were hungry…I hope you have enough meat to go around."

"Uh…yeah, of course," Seth said, obviously still confused about what was happening. He pulled the meat off the fire, and then did his best to tear apart a few hot chunks to serve to the kids.

"Thank you," the boy said graciously as he took the food from Seth. But when the girl got her food, she just scowled at it and then shot Seth one of the most menacing glares I had ever seen.

"Is everything okay?" he asked her.

"I don't eat anything that was touched by a dog," she said viciously.

"Uh…" Seth looked at Edward questionably.

"Now, I told you to be nice," Edward warned her.

She huffed. "Yes, master."

"It's good, sister," the boy tried encouraging her. She continued to sulk, but would smile whenever she made eye contact with anyone…obviously it was her attempt at being 'nice' as Edward instructed.

"So…are you guys excited to do some traveling?" I asked them, just trying to make small talk.

"We are excited to fulfill our destiny," the boy replied.

"Having the power to kill people with our minds would be nice as well," the girl said disturbingly sweet.

"Jane," Edward chided.

"I was being perfectly nice," the girl said innocently. "If you don't mind, master, I'm tired and would like to return to the room now."

"I guess that would be ok. Go ahead," Edward excused her.

"Alec…let's go."

"But I want to stay out here for a little while."

"Now!" the girl insisted.

The boy huffed but obeyed his sister, and the two disappeared back into the motorhome.

"Wow…they're…sweet," Leah said after a minute.

"Sweet and sadistic," Edward agreed. "Psychos, is more like it. That's why I told you guys to stay away from them…but no, you had to get all noble and stick your heads together conspiring to _rescue_ them."

"The boy seems nice," Jake argued.

"Alec is worse than his sister…he's the type that will make you think he's your friend and then kill you in your sleep."

We all just stared at him, unsure what to think.

"I'm telling you guys, these kids nasty little things….They've been taught to be. There is no way they'd ever be able to be introduced into a human society. The only thing keeping them from trying to kill any of you right now is because their master…_me_… told them not to."

"How do you know they're so evil?" I questioned. "They've never been around anyone other than that vampire dude."

"That vampire _dude_ has to eat, right?" Edward asked condescendingly. "Usually he gets bank blood delivered, but they've definitely sent some live humans occasionally, and when I was there to pick them up the other day, he gloated how he let the kids kill a few…and they were very excited to do so."

I seriously felt like vomiting.

"Do you think they had weapons to kill the humans?" Edward continued. "No. They beat and clawed at them until they were dead, and then they played in the blood and ran around for days covered in it. Trust me, these kids are deranged."

"Well, I vote we abandoned them in the desert then," Leah said quickly. "Psychos being turned into vampires can't be a good thing."

"It can as long as they're controlled…you'll see," Edward tried assuring us. He went on to explain the powers the kids were predicted to have once turned, and I had to admit, it was frightening and exciting at the same time. We really did have a chance at victory with them on our side, so as much as we all hated the idea, we decided to trust Edward and go along with his plan. If he was right about everything, the kids would never be able to function as normal humans, but as vampires their potential gifts could help restore the world to its natural human/vampire balance. It was still a gamble, but it was a risk we needed to take.

* * *

*****A/N: Getting closer to the end. I'd say only two or three more chapters left :)**


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